The Year of the Originals
by Loraena
Summary: My version of the upcoming third season, since we know it will be the year of the originals. A family full of secrets, for sure, going all the way back to the beginning. Some secrets they don't even know...yet.
1. Mystery Girls

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

**Chapter 1: Mystery Girls**

A few days after Klaus killed Elijah a pair of females came into town. Alaric and Damon were at the Grille where they first seen them. Damon noticed them the minute they walked through the door. They were both nearly the same height, and skinny. The one that came in first had shoulder-length blond hair covering one eye, and she wore white dress. The other, had long dark hair pulled back into a pony tail, and she wore slim pants with heels and a tank top.

"They're a bit overdressed for Mystic Falls." Damon said getting Rick's attention.

"There's no parties going on is there?"

"No."

The girls walked to the bar and sat down ordering their drinks. Damon and Rick walked over to join them and to figure out who they were. "Well, hello ladies." Damon said acting like his usual charming self with a smile. Rick kept to himself just grinning. "You're not from around here, and you look awful snazzy."

"No we're not, and yes we do." Said the dark haired one refusing to answer. "Who are you?" She asked snootily looking to Rick who was next to her.

"Alaric, and that's Damon."

"Milena." She said holding out her hand for him to shake. "And my cousin."

"Annemarie." The blonde finished for her shaking Damon's hand.

Except Milena didn't let go of Alaric's hand. "You're not very smart, are you? Coming over here trying to be sneaky with a couple of vampires. I understand him, because he's one too, but you – a human."

"Look." Damon said. "This is our town, and we don't like to share, so what do you want?"

"It's none of your business." Said Milena.

"Milena, let him go." Annemarie said, and Milena hesitantly listened. "We're not here to cause trouble, and we'll be gone in a couple days."

"Good." Damon said and walked away. Immediately, he grabbed his phone to call Elena, since Stefan was gone. "We may have a problem."

"What do you mean?"

"We have two new vampires in town; they just came into the Grill."

"What do they want?"

"They didn't say. So be careful." He warned before hanging up on her.

Elena was out with Caroline and Bonnie who looked at her worried at what was going on. She looked to them. "It's nothing, just Damon being paranoid as usual."

"Who are they?" Bonnie asked. Elena gave her a confused look so she clarified. "You said what do they want?"

"Damon ran into two vampires at the grill."

"They're not here for Klaus, are they?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know." Elena shrugged. "They didn't say. But I doubt it, I mean the curse was broken and he's gone."

"Maybe we could go find out." Caroline insisted.

"You want to talk to them?" Said Bonnie.

"Well, if they work for Klaus then there's no reason for them to harm me, I mean I have nothing to do with him."

"No, it's too risky."

"Elena, look at everything you tried to do. That was risky."

"Then I'm going with you." Bonnie insisted. "Elena, you should go find Damon. You have enough to worry about with Stefan. So you two can work on that while we figure this out."

Elena was hesitant about it but she finally sighed saying, "Ok."

Meanwhile Damon went back to his house to see Elena waiting for him while Rick went to see Jeremy to warn him.

"Elena, why am I not surprised to see you here?" Damon said as he came into the living room and poured himself a drink.

"We need to come up with a plan Damon. How are we going to save Stefan?"

"I'm not so sure we can."

"How can you say that?"

"Elena, he's with Klaus. We've been looking for days, we have no way of tracking him."

"There has to be something."

He walked over to her after finishing his drink. "I promise we won't stop looking…In the meantime, what are we going to do about our two visitors?"

"Caroline and Bonnie are looking for them?"

"They what?"

"They wanted to talk to them."

"Are they insane? We don't know anything about these girls. We don't know how old they are, how strong they are, or even if they're alone."

Meanwhile, Rick was with Jeremy who was still trying to figure out how he saw Anna and Vicki. They all knew about it already, but they hadn't been able to find anything, like they were ghosts. Damon even checked where he buried Vicki and she was still there, meaning they were ghosts. Damon had decided that was Bonnie's area of expertise, so he could focus on finding Stefan with Elena. And now they had another problem. Although, Rick didn't tell Jeremy, he had enough on his mind.

"Find anything?" Rick asked him as he walked into the living room where Jeremy was sitting on the couch going through Bonnie's spell book. She had left it there the night before when they were looking up ghosts together.

"No. I don't even understand half of this. Where's Bonnie? I thought she'd be back by now."

"She's helping Elena and Damon with the Stefan situation, so I thought I'd stop by to see how you were doing."

"I'm alright, I guess. I just never thought I'd see them again, you know. And ghosts? Like we don't have enough creatures to worry about."

"Yeah, right." Rick said keeping the two new vampires in mind.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"So what exactly are we going to do when we find them?" Caroline asked Bonnie as they walked through the woods.

Bonnie didn't turn to look at her, just kept walking forward following the path her spell was telling her to go. "Leave that to me."

"What if they want to fight?"

"Stop worrying."

Getting frustrated, Caroline stopped placing her hands on her hips as she looked around. "Are we even getting close?" It seemed like they'd been walking for hours.

"I don't know." Bonnie admitted taking a look around. Everything looked the same, it was hard to tell. "I think they may have us going in circles."

"They know we're coming."

"Or it's a precaution." Bonnie closed her eyes trying to focus. Leaves blew around them and then they started flying together in one direction. "Come on, let's go this way."

Damon was getting frustrated that they hadn't heard back from Bonnie and Caroline yet. "It's been long enough they should've called."

Elena agreed so she pulled out her phone and tried to call them rather than texting, since they weren't answering the messages she sent. They still didn't answer. "Maybe they have their phones turned off."

"Maybe."

Then they heard a knock at the door. Damon went to answer it, armed with a stake just in case. When he opened the door though, he saw Bonnie and Caroline. He didn't look very happy with them, and called for Elena since she was the only one who could invite Caroline in. "What's wrong?" Elena asked as they walked inside together.

"Did you invite them in?" Bonnie asked.

"No, why?"

"They're here."

"What?" Elena said surprised and then looked up to see Annemarie leaning against the doorway.

"Hello, doppelganger."

"Who are you?" Elena asked trying not to sound frightened.

"Annemarie."

"How do you know me?"

"I never said I knew you…Oh, hello again Damon."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drive this through your heart."

"I think it's time you invited me in so we can have a little chat."

"You had your chance, you turned it down."

"It was too public for this kind of thing." Said Annemarie giving Damon a trustworthy look. "I swear I mean you no harm, and that I have no connection to Klaus."

"Fine." Damon said. Elena looked to Damon who nodded and invited her in then they all went to the living room. The three girls sat on the couch while Annemarie sat nicely in the chair with her legs crossed like a lady. "We're listening." Damon said as he stood next to the couch.

"As I said I have no connection to Klaus but he is why we're here, or rather because of something he did."

"Which is?"

"First off, Milena doesn't know I'm here, and will not be happy to find out I've told you. As far as she's concerned this is none of your business."

"We can keep a secret." Damon promised.

"You'd better, we're not ones to forgive. Although, I'd imagine you already knew that."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

Annemarie smiled without answering; instead she went on with her story. "Let's say I helped you find Klaus and your boyfriend."

"Why would you?" Bonnie asked. "You said you have no connection to him, so why find him?"

"Then let me rephrase, we have no affiliation with him."

"If you helped Stefan, you would want something in return." Said Elena.

"Yes. What we're here for we cannot find, and only Klaus and Stefan know where it is. So if we help you find him, he must tell me the location. That's the deal."

"What are you looking for?" Damon asked.

"Not your concern."

"Then there's no deal." Damon said. "My brother won't give you what you want without knowing why."

"Yes he will." Annemarie disagreed confidently. "He won't have a choice." Annemarie stood up. "That's the offer, take it or leave it. I suppose we can always do it Milena's way, I just thought it'd be easier with your help. I should go now." She finished and they watched as she left the room then heard the door open and close.

"I don't trust her." Damon said.

Bonnie gave him a look. "You don't trust anyone."

"I don't know what to think." Elena said. "I mean, she came here offering to help when her cousin didn't want anything to do with us. If she can really help find Stefan – "

"Elena, she can't. She could just be saying that to earn her way in."

"What if she's not?"

"Elena, no one could find Klaus. Elijah didn't even know where he was." Bonnie reminded her. "So how could she?"


	2. The Deal

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

**Chapter 2: The Deal**

The next day, Caroline was on her way to school when she was stopped. Someone was standing in the road, so she slammed the brakes to keep from running them over. She couldn't see who it was, they had their sweater hood on. Slowly they walked around to the side of her car and she quickly locked all the doors and began rummaging through her bag in the backseat for a weapon. Then she screamed as her window was broken open and the person reached inside to unlock her door before opening it and dragging Caroline out by her jacket.

"Let go of me!" Caroline screamed and was forced against the side of her car. Not knowing if her assailant was human or not she restrained herself from doing anything that would freak a human out. When the hood came off, she saw a beautiful young woman with long dark hair and blue eyes. Then her eyes changed and Caroline realized this was a vampire, so Caroline reached for her small wooden stake she had pushed into her pocket before being ripped out of her car. As her hand flew up to attack the vampire she didn't know, Milena grabbed her hand twisting it to get the stake and then threw it across the road. Now even more angry, Milena dragged Caroline into the woods leaving her car there in the road.

At school everyone was wondering where Caroline was. Even Tyler who came up to Elena at her locker. "Hey, Elena."

"Oh hi, Tyler."

"Any luck yet with Stefan?"

"No, I still can't get ahold of him."

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely and Elena smirked with gratitude. "Do you know where Caroline is?"

"No, actually I haven't talked to her today. I thought maybe she was with you."

"No, I've been trying to call her, but all I get is her voicemail."

"Ok, um – " She fumbled to get to her cell phone in her pocket, and dialed Damon, who also didn't answer his phone, so she sent him a text. "This really can't be happening." Elena sighed. "I don't know if I can handle anymore problems."

"What do you mean? What else is going on?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Alright, I'm going to go look for Caroline. I'll call you if I find her."

"Ok."

Meanwhile, Caroline was being tied up to a tree in the same spot where Klaus had done the ritual. The dead bodies were still there to prove it. It was in the middle of nowhere, they weren't going to be found. Just in case, though, Milena had compelled some people to be gravediggers. Caroline noticed the two men digging when the blindfold came off. She also noticed the same young woman now without the fancy black coat. Caroline couldn't help but notice she wore high heeled leather boots in the middle of nowhere, overtop her jeans, and to finish off the look she wore a blue v- neck top. Caroline also noticed a diamond necklace around her neck, proving either she had some serious money, or she had a rich significant other.

"Scream, and I kill you for the trouble." Milena warned before she removed the rag around Caroline's mouth.

"Who are you?" Caroline asked as Milena threw the rag away.

"You don't need to know who I am."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"You're the vampire who was following us along with your little witch friend. Why were you following us?"

"We just wanted to talk. We wanted to know why you're here."

"You know I always found towns like this interesting. They're like supernatural magnets where vampires, werewolves, witches, and even ghosts swarm like insects. I already met one vampire, the eldest Salvatore brother. What's his name again? Ah, Damon. He's not exactly going to make my list of favorite people."

"What do you want with me?"

"I know my cousin made a little visit last night to the Salvatore house."

"I don't know anything." Caroline lied as she tried to move her hands to loosen the rope.

"Don't lie to me." Milena said putting her face a mere inch away from Caroline's threateningly. "Not that it matters." She added backing away. "You don't have to tell me anything, it's Damon I want to talk to."

"I'm bait?"

"Oh, I'm sure Damon will come looking for you soon enough, with the witch, and the doppelganger. Maybe even your werewolf boyfriend." Caroline was surprised by how much she seemed to know about them already, and it showed by the look on her face. "Oh, I know more than you think. We've been watching this town for a while, just waiting for the right time to barge in."

School ended and still no sign of Caroline. Matt had even asked Elena where she was. Elena went home with Jeremy and Bonnie. Bonnie grabbed her spell book sitting on the couch with Jeremy. They were still looking up ghosts since that's all Jeremy could think about. Elena kept trying to call Caroline, but no answer. She tried to call Damon again as she watched Bonnie and Jeremy from the kitchen. Instead of getting an answer on the phone, she heard a knock on the door. Bonnie and Jeremy both looked back over the couch. "Elena, wait, we don't know who it is. It could be one of them."

"Or it could be Caroline." Elena insisted as she walked to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me."

She opened it recognizing Damon's voice and let him in. "Where have you been, I've tried calling you."

"I was with Sheriff Forbes. Have you seen the news?"

Jeremy turned on the TV curiously and they could see Caroline's abandoned car.

"Oh my god." Elena whispered as she fell into the chair. "We have to find her."

"I'll find Caroline while you stay here."

"No, Damon, she's my friend."

"Elena, it's probably a trap. Whoever has her is definitely not human. You're staying here." He finished arguing with her and left.

Before Damon could find her, Tyler did. He came walking into the open area seeing only Caroline tied up to the tree. She seemed to be passed out as her head was hanging down and her eyes were closed. He rushed over to her and began shaking her gently trying to wake her. "Caroline."

"Hm? Tyler?"

"We have to get you out of here."

"Tyler, where is she?"

"Who?"

Caroline looked around and the men were gone, and so was her captor. "Tyler, you should leave."

"What? I'm not leaving you like this."

"She'll get you too."

"Who?" He implored again.

"Me." Caroline looked past Tyler to see Milena standing behind him with a large gun in her hand, looked like a shotgun. "Tyler, right?"

"Who the hell are you?" He stayed in front of Caroline protectively.

"You know, I'm getting sick of being asked the same questions over and over again." She raised the gun and shot off a round hitting Tyler.

"Tyler!" Caroline screamed as he fell to the ground. Milena cocked the gun and came closer. "Don't kill him, please, don't. He was just trying to help me." She pleaded.

Milena tossed the shotgun down and picked Tyler up placing him on a small pyre Caroline didn't remember seeing before. Milena tied him down, and gagged him, then left again. Caroline knew she was just hiding, waiting for Damon to show up. She kept her eyes on Tyler waiting for him to move.

Damon had heard the gunshot and rushed finding the cellar where Klaus had hidden Caroline and Tyler for the ritual but it was empty. He didn't know where else they might be, there was nothing else out that way. As he came out, the wind blew just right, and he could smell blood not far away. He followed the scent knowing it was too easy, but he didn't care. He found the open area, but before he could get to Caroline he was jumped and pinned to the ground.

"Hello again, Damon."

"Milena. I should've known."

She pulled a dagger out of the back of her pants and held it to his throat. "We need to talk."

"You can't kill me with that." He laughed.

"No." She admitted then cut him across the chest with it making him groan in pain. "But it still hurts. What did Annemarie want with you?"

"What?"

"Don't play coy, Damon, I know she met with you last night, what did she want?"

"She wanted to make a deal."

"What deal?"

"She said she'd help us find my brother in return he'd promise to help her."

"Did she say what we wanted?"

"No."

"Did you accept her deal?"

"Of course not. Like I'm going to trust you."

She cut him again then stabbed the dagger through his hand and into the ground. "Don't insult me, you don't know me."

"I told you in the bar, we don't play well with others. This is our town."

"Yes, I remember that. The problem is your town is where Klaus was last heard of. So, here we are." She removed the dagger from his hand and cleaned off the blood wiping it on his shirt. "The truth is, I knew all about the deal. And I want you to take it."

"What?" Caroline interrupted. "But, Annemarie said you wouldn't – "

"Yes, I know, thank you." Milena cut her off.

"No." Damon answered.

"We had a long talk last night and we've decided this deal is the easiest way to do this. I spent all night looking for Klaus, and I may have found a way to get to him."

"Yes?"

"I won't tell you unless you agree."

Damon quickly got out from under her, surprisingly she didn't fight him, but it wasn't like he was trying to run away or else she would have. "Why do you need us?"

"Because we need your brother. We can't get to Klaus yet, we just need your brother."

"So your plan is to just sneak by Klaus and grab Stefan without him noticing?"

"That's the idea, yeah."

Damon couldn't help but laugh. "Do you even know what you're up against?"

Angrily, Milena sped to him grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "I know more about Klaus than you could ever hope to know in twice your lifetime."

"The curse was lifted, he's practically invincible. So forgive me for being cynical."

"All you need to know is that we can save your brother. If I were you, I'd take the deal now. Or am I not being convincing enough?" Milena threw the dagger and it landed in Caroline's chest, making Caroline scream in pain. Damon rushed to her and pulled the dagger out. However, her wound didn't heal, and sh kept bleeding.

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked desperately, she was scared.

"Do you know what that dagger is?"

"What?" He asked not understanding why that was important.

She smiled, she was cocky that was for sure. "Strange isn't it, how your wounds haven't healed yet." Damon looked down to see the slash in his chest still bleeding and his hand still had a hole through it. "That dagger is pure silver, and it's been dipped in this." She said pulling a vile out of her pocket. "Any guesses as to what it might be?"

"Ash." Damon groaned, the same ash used to kill an original. It made sense why she would have it, to kill Klaus, but why use it on them?

"Ooh, you're smarter than you look." Damon smirked unhappily at the joke. "The only thing that can kill an original can also be used to keep vampires from healing. So, unless you want to watch vampire Barbie bleed to mummification, take the deal."

"Damon – " Caroline insisted. She had already lost a lot of blood and was about to pass out.

Damon wasn't happy about it, she could see him struggling with the decision, which only made her grin.


	3. Disappearance

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

**Chapter 3: Disappearance**

Damon had agreed to the deal and then the two girls seemed to disappear. Caroline was taken home to heal, and Damon stayed in his room. Elena was with him and brought him a bag of blood. The healing process was slow, and it irritated him.

"When I see little miss vampire warrior again, I swear I'll kill her and steal that dagger to kill Klaus myself." Damon muttered as he drank.

"Damon, we need them. We can't find Stefan without them."

"Of course they can't just tell us _how_ they're going to find Stefan. Or what they need him to find."

"Maybe Klaus hid something here."

"I wonder if there's something in that burial ground. They chose to take Caroline there for a reason."

"Where the ritual was?"

"Yeah."

"Caroline said all they did was bury the bodies, they weren't looking for anything."

"We need to find out what they're looking for. For all we know they could be lying."

"I don't know." Elena sighed. "She put you through quite a bit just to make you agree."

There was no doubt that they were confused, and had no idea what to think of their new partners. Damon didn't want to agree to anything, but she could have killed him. She was stronger than he anticipated, if he had to guess he'd say she was at least as old as Katherine, maybe older.

Matt came to visit Caroline who was still in bed healing. He sat down beside her bed waking her and she turned her head to look at him.

"Hi." He said softly.

"Hey. It's good to see you." She whispered back taking his hand.

"I'm glad they found you. It was all over the news."

"I'm ok." She promised. "Have you seen Tyler?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He's still a little sore, but he's up and moving around. I caught him leaving his house actually."

"Is he leaving again?"

"No, he was just going for a run like he always does."

"Oh, that's good." She sighed relieved, she felt really tired. Usually injuries from wood heal right up, but this was like being human again. She fell asleep soon and Matt just sat there thinking, until her mom walked in. He got up and walked to the doorway where she was standing.

"The only thing that could have attacked her is another vampire. We know it wasn't one of the Salvatore brothers, because Damon was injured too."

"How do you know that?"

"Tyler told me. He said he found Caroline, was injured, and then Damon came."

"So you think there are more vampires in town?"

"I don't know what to think. Caroline isn't saying anything, and I've never seen a vampire bleed like that. They always heal. So I don't know who did this, or how, but we need to find out."

Meanwhile, Tyler was jogging back to the cellar where he got a shovel, then to where he had found Caroline after she was abducted by Milena. He could see the graves where they had buried those who died, and he knew one of them to be Jules. He wanted to find her, so he could take her home and bury her where she belonged. So he picked one and started digging. Every now and then he'd hear something and would turn to look around, then get back to digging. They weren't buried very deep, so it didn't take long for him to uncover the first one, which wasn't Jules (it was Luka's sister).

He was ready to move on to the next one since he didn't know her, but he noticed that she was clutching something in her hands – the moonstone. He took the moonstone putting it in his pocket the moved over to the next grave. He hurried knowing this one for sure would be Jules, and he was right. When he could see her hand, he got down on his hands and knees to push the dirt off her body until enough was uncovered that he could pulled her out. And just like the other, she had something in her hands which were resting over her chest. He picked up the necklace and was surprised by how beautiful it was. The chain was pure gold, and on it hung a golden star. He put it in his pocket with the moonstone, then carried Jules out of there.

Elena left the Salvatore house and went home. Jeremy, who had been staying up late every night, was asleep in his room, so she closed the door and went back downstairs. As she walked into the kitchen she could feel someone watching her. She turned around but no one was there. She continued making herself a cup of coffee and walked into the living room to sit down on the couch. Bonnie's book was gone, meaning she must have taken it home. Elena kept looking hearing things and when she turned to forward again she saw Damon standing there making her jump and nearly spill her coffee on herself. "Damon." She groaned sounding irritated with him for sneaking up on her. "What are you doing here? You should be resting."

"Nah, I'm fine. It was only a couple scratches. Any sign of the evil cousins?" He asked getting comfortable next to her.

"No. Do you think they went to find Stefan?"

"I don't know what to think."

"If they weren't being honest Milena had the chance to kill you, all three of you and she didn't."

"Yeah and she could have. She was definitely strong enough."

"So they're old?"

"Milena is anyway. If they're really cousins then I guess the blonde is too…You know, I can't figure something out. When she had me on the ground I noticed something on her neck."

"What?"

"It looked like a tattoo." He said sounding surprised.

"A tattoo? Since when do vampires have tattoos?"

"Tattoos are an old tradition Elena, they're not new."

"I know. So what was it?"

"It looked like writing, Latin, maybe." He said. Elena got up and walked over to one of the drawers and grabbed a paper and a pen handing it to him. He took it placing it on the coffee table and wrote what he saw as best he could. "Here, see if you can find out what that says."

"You really think it'll mean anything?"

"Probably not, but they're too mysterious, we need to know something." He finished getting up off the couch and walking to the door. "Elena." He called before leaving the room, and she looked over the back of the couch. "If you see them, don't confront them on your own."

"Ok, I'll let you know."

He smirked gratefully then left. Then her phone buzzed so she picked it up to see Caroline had sent her a text saying, 'Tyler's gone.' Elena put down her coffee cup and left headed for Caroline's house.

Caroline had sent Bonnie the same message who was already with Caroline and they were talking to Carol, Tyler's mom.

"Do you know where he went?" Caroline asked her.

"No, he just left a note saying he'd be back in a couple days and not to worry."

"Was he at least ok when he left?"

"He seemed to be fine. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, just wondering."

"I'll let him know you came looking for him when he gets home."

"Thanks, Mrs. Lockwood." Caroline said with a smile then they walked off the porch together as Carol closed the door.

"He might've went back to wherever Jules took him." Bonnie suggested as they kept walking.

"Yeah, maybe." They walked to Caroline's car together and got in.

"You're worried about him aren't you?"

Caroline nodded her head as she fumbled her car keys. She finally put them in the ignition and started the car. She looked at her phone seeing a message from Elena, 'Where are you?'. Elena must have went to her house and she wasn't there, so she texted back. 'Meet at the Grill.'

Elena got there first and was already sitting with Alaric who she had asked to come. "Damon gave me this." She said handing him the piece of paper.

"Latin?"

"He said he saw it on Milena last night."

"Alright, I'll try to find out what it says." He promised stuffing the paper into his jacket pocket before the girls joined them. Caroline sat next to Elena and Bonnie sat next to Alaric.

"We went to his house and his mom doesn't know where he is either." Caroline said.

"Who?" Alaric asked having missed the story.

"Tyler's gone." Bonnie answered.

"Yeah, again." Caroline was angry, it was obvious. She looked over and saw Matt working, she waved and smiled and he smirked back.

"Caroline, are you sure you're ok?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine. It's almost healed."

"What happened?" Again, Alaric was missing what was going on. He knew she was kidnapped but he didn't know she was hurt.

"I was kidnapped by a psychotic woman. She threw a silver dagger dipped in white oak ash at me and it stabbed me in the chest."

"Why would she use it on you?"

"Don't know. She didn't have a stake or any other weapon on her, just that dagger. She got Damon with it too."

"I would say she was saving it for Klaus, but it won't work on him. So she must have had it a long time."

"Or they work for Klaus." Alaric suggested.

"Why do you say that?" Elena asked.

"Elijah said Klaus killed their family, and the only way to do that is with one of those daggers."

"So you think she was one of his lackeys that killed his family for him?" Bonnie asked.

"No, I think he would've done it himself." Elena said.

"They came in here claiming they weren't going to cause trouble and then they kidnap you, and all we know is they're looking for something that has some connection to Klaus."

"I think we can trust them." Caroline said surprising the others that she of all people, the kidnapped, would be on their side. "If she wanted to kill us she could have. She only hurt us to get Damon to take the deal because she admitted it would easier to find whatever it is with our help."

"And then they vanished."

"Hopefully to find Stefan."

"Alone? They must really be full of themselves if they think they can pull Stefan away from Klaus by themselves." Bonnie said.

"We don't know if they're alone." Alaric said. "Which is why we need to be careful."

Caroline got up and went over to talk to Matt. "Hey."

"Hey." He said stopping his sweeping for a moment. "Caroline, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're ok, but I still don't know how to handle all this. And now, there's even more going on. And Tyler's gone again.

"I know."

"Even your mom is suspicious."

"She is?"

"Yeah. She wants to find out who it is that attacked you. She doesn't believe one of the Salvatores did it."

"Of course they didn't do it."

"Then who did?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Matt, you don't need to worry, they're gone."

"Are they dead?" He asked getting pushy.

"No."

"Caroline, how can I not worry. They could come back, right? What if they hurt more people."

"We wont let them."

"Are they vampires?"

"Yeah." She whispered knowing she shouldn't be telling him these things, but she couldn't help it.

"Bad vampires?"

"We don't know." She said. Matt was getting frustrated and angry, he was sick of this stuff, he just wanted it to go away, he wished he never knew. "Matt, please just trust me. We'll figure something out. Just don't let my mom get involved. If she goes after them she could get hurt."

After a minute of trying to calm himself down he nodded his head slowly. He would help keep the Sheriff on the wrong trail so she didn't find anything important.


	4. Fides Estate

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

**Chapter 4: Fides Estate**

Another full day went by, and still no word from Tyler or from the mystery girls. Damon had gone back to the burial ground and found the graves dug up and that Jules was missing so at least now they knew what Tyler was doing. Now, in the pitch dark of night, Damon and Alaric were on their way to finding where they had been staying during their little visit. While Alaric was looking up that Latin word he also looked up old abandoned buildings in Mystic Falls, and found out that there was an old estate in the woods, mostly ruins much like the Salvatore estate.

"Did you find out what that was in Latin?" Damon asked as they walked through the woods.

Alaric was holding the GPS so they could find the house. Jeremy had used his phone to get the coordinates like he did to find Elena when Rose took her. "Yeah, but it doesn't really make sense because it's only one word."

"What'd it say?"

"Filia means daughter."

"Daughter of who?" Damon wondered as she stopped to look ahead. "Is that it?" He pointed and they could see an old walkway which was now overgrown.

"Yeah."

They walked up the walkway trying not to trip on the roots and vines that covered it. Rick did trip once but he caught himself. According to Jeremy the estate was called Fides, which Alaric also looked up. Fides was the Roman goddess of Loyalty and Trust. No name was given for who lived there, though. It was a nice house, and it looked to be about as old as the Salvatore estate would have been.

"I can't believe it's still standing." Alaric said looking at it. Thinking back on the name it had, it made sense, it even looked very Roman. Columns along the front porch and large double doors. When they walked inside it was nothing like the outside, it was clean and in pristine condition. Beautiful marble floors and stone staircase, tall dome ceiling with a crystal chandelier.

"The only way this house is this clean is if someone's been living here. There's no way they've been here that long without us knowing."

"I don't think they have. They must have someone keeping it up for them."

"Alright, you look down here, I'll go look upstairs." Damon ordered as he headed up the staircase.

Rick walked into the living room at the right through the large archway. In the middle of the room sat a silver and glass coffee table with two white couches on each broad side. Behind them was the large stone fireplace. He noticed some pictures on the mantle. He recognized Milena and Annemarie, but there was another girl with them in all the pictures. She had short brown hair, brown eyes, and dressed just as fancy in designer clothes. He hoped it wasn't another family member, and it was just a friend. He put the picture down and left the living room since there weren't any desks or anything with drawers to look through. He walked through the door on the far well and ended up in a dining room, bigger than any he'd ever seen before with a table that could fit twenty people.

Upstairs, Damon was looking through one of the bedrooms. It was the first one he came to. The bed was neatly made, and he couldn't help but feel the fabric, and it was all silk. Why wasn't he surprised? Like Alaric he found pictures on the bedside table. Except these pictures weren't of the girls, they were of a man. Damon didn't recognize him. In one of the pictures he was with Annemarie. So it must have been her room, and her man. Thinking back on it he did remember seeing a wedding ring on her finger. He put the picture down and opened the drawer on the bedside table. Nothing in it except a bible. So he started to go through the dresser, trying not to throw clothes all over place.

Alaric opened the next door, it was the kitchen. He decided that would be a waste of time, so he moved across the hall to the parlor. The first thing he noticed there was the large book collection. Some of the books seemed to be older than the house. He checked behind the bookcase and there was no door back there, so he left the bookcase alone. He looked around and realized there wasn't really anything there. No one hides stuff on the main floor because everyone sees it. So he went back into the hall and looked for a basement door. When he couldn't find on he ran back into the kitchen. Like the dining room, it was one of the biggest kitchens he'd ever seen. But that was rich people, he guessed. There was a door on the same wall to the right so he rushed over and tried to open it but it was locked. He'd need Damon to open it, so he headed upstairs.

Damon had moved on to the next bedroom by the time Alaric came in. "I couldn't find anything. But there is a locked door; I think might be the basement."

"Alright, you finish up here I'll go look."

"It's in the kitchen." Alaric said as Damon walked down the stairs.

As Damon walked into the kitchen and found the door he heard another door open and shut causing him and Alaric to both pause for a minute. Damon listened carefully and knew someone else was in the house so he quickly looked for a place to hide. However, the only way to get to the back door was in the hall straight across from the front door.

"Where are we?" Damon heard and he recognized the voice causing him to sneak to the door leading to the dining room and rush through then peek through that door into the living room. He could see Stefan through the archway.

"Don't worry Stefan, we'll take you home in the morning." Annemarie promised as she took off her coat and hung it on the hanger beside the door. Milena did the same thing.

"Why bring me here?"

"Because Klaus doesn't know it exists, and even if he finds it, he can't get in." Annemarie said.

"You look thirsty." Milena said holding his chin. "I know I am. How about I go get something for us to drink?"

"No." Stefan said. "I'm done."

"Stefan, relax." Annemarie said placing a hand on his shoulder. "We have some stored."

Upstairs Alaric snuck on his hands and knees to peek through the railing to watch them.

Milena started towards the kitchen. Damon listened to her heels clicking on the floor and she walked past the door to the dining room and he could hear her from the kitchen. He snuck into the living room closing the door quietly and crept along the wall towards the archway so he could get to Stefan.

"We have a spare room upstairs that you can use. You must be tired."

"I think I should let my friends know I'm safe."

"Stefan, I understand, but if you tell them now, they'll rush over here. Then Klaus will find us. You'd only be endangering them. Wait 'til morning, I promise, everything will be ok."

He nodded agreeing with her and she headed for the stairs. Alaric panicked and shuffled down the hall as quickly as he could into the guest bedroom and hid in the closet. He knew it was the guest one because it was the only one not decorated and adorned with pictures.

Seeing his chance, Damon peeked around the archway to get Stefan's attention who rushed to his brother happy to see him. "Are you ok?" Damon asked his little brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Is Elena ok?"

"Yeah, everyone's ok. We need to get out of here."

"Damon, you heard what she said. If I leave Klaus can find me."

"And you trust them?"

"They just saved my life."

"How? How did they do it?"

"I don't know. I was upstairs, and then Annemarie came through the window, blindfolded me and next thing I know we're in a car and already on the road."

Figuring Stefan had gone upstairs to bed, Milena did too carrying the bags of blood in one hand while she drank from the one in the other.

"Damon, you have to leave."

"What? I'm not leaving without you."

"I'm fine. I'll see you in the morning."

"I don't trust them, and you shouldn't either. What if this is all just a way to gain our trust so they can turn us all in to Klaus?"

"You think they work for Klaus?"

"How else would they be able to get to you so easily?"

"Alright, who else is with you?"

"Rick. He's upstairs."

"I'll get him, and we'll meet you outside."

Damon ran to the backdoor as quietly as he could, while Stefan ran upstairs and ran into Milena at the top. "There you are." She said handing him a bag.

"Sorry, I was just looking around. It's so beautiful. How old is this place?"

"It was built in 1827 when we moved here from New York."

"Oh, how have you managed to keep it looking this nice?"

"Well, we don't live here all the time obviously so we have servants who take care of it."

"Um, thank you again for getting me out of there." Stefan said.

"You're welcome. Well, it's late, we should get some sleep. Tomorrow might be one hell of day if Klaus finds us." She said and walked gracefully down the hall and into the second bedroom. He walked to the last door on the right which was the guest room and locked the door behind him.

"Alaric?" He called whispering quietly.

Rick opened the closet door seeing Stefan was alone. "Thank god you're alright." He said walking to Stefan and patting him on the back.

"Yeah. Come on, Damon's waiting." He said as he opened the window. He could just jump down, but Alaric couldn't, so there was a little dilemma. They tore the silk sheet from bed and Stefan held onto it while Alaric climbed down, and Damon waited at the bottom in case he fell. Once Alaric was safely on the ground Stefan jumped and then they took off running through the woods.

They made it to Elena's house, where Stefan insisted to go. Jeremy let them in, he was still up from not being able to sleep as usual. He kept seeing Vicki and Anna, even when he did sleep.

"Stefan." Jeremy said surprised to him.

"Hey, where's Elena?"

"In her room."

Alaric and Damon waited downstairs with Jeremy while Stefan went upstairs.

"So did you find anything?" Alaric asked Damon as they sat down making themselves comfortable.

"No, nothing." He was disappointed.

"So you found the house?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, they brought Stefan back there and weren't going to bring him home until morning."

"When I was in the living room I noticed some pictures on the mantle." Alaric said getting Damon's attention. "There was another girl with them."

"There was another bedroom too." Damon said.

"I didn't get to it before they got home. I'm willing to bet, though, that it belongs to that third girl in the pictures."

"Wonderful." Damon mumbled.

Upstairs Stefan sat on Elena's bed, she was still sleeping. His hand gently pushed the hair back from her face and her hand flew to his as she woke up. "Stefan?"

"Hey."

She sat up, it took a minute to set in, she thought she was dreaming so she rubbed her eyes but he was still there. She quickly wrapped her arms around him. "Stefan."

"I'm ok." He promised soothingly caressing her back. When she pulled away he kissed her.

"What happened?" She asked when the kiss stopped.

"I'll tell you everything in the morning."

"No, I want to know."

"Alright, come on."

They went downstairs together and sat down with the others. "Stefan, what do you know about them?" Damon asked.

"Not much. I know about the deal."

"Do you know what they're looking for?"

"No." Stefan answered.

That put them back at square one and they all sighed with frustration. They were getting tired of playing these games.


	5. Sacred Family Secret

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**Chapter 5: Sacred Family Secret**

They had spent the night at Elena's then left. They had all decided to go to the boarding house in order to stay together in case Klaus came looking. The whole gang was under one roof.

"If Klaus comes, we only have one weapon to use against him. Me." Bonnie said.

"No, Bonnie, that's not an option."

"Elena, it's the only option."

"No, it will take even more power now than it would before, you'll die."

"We'll find another way." Jeremy said looking through the book and through John Gilbert's journals.

Stefan could hear them from his room upstairs. He hadn't been able to sleep, he laid there thinking quietly. Stefan had lied, he knew what they wanted.

_Flashback _

In the car on the way back from where they had saved him, Milena tore off the blindfold as she sat beside him in the backseat while Annemarie drove.

"Hello, Stefan." She said lowering her hood to reveal her face. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"You know me?"

"Who doesn't know you these days? I'm Milena, that's my cousin Annemarie."

"Why did you save me?"

"That was the deal."

"What deal?"

"Miss Annemarie up there made a deal with your brother, oh, and your girlfriend. If we found you, then you have to do a little something for us."

"Which is?"

"First, we need to know that we can trust you. Are you a man of your word Stefan?"

"Yes. If that's true, then I will help you."

"Oh good. Don't worry, Stefan, we keep our word. As long as you help us, we'll keep you safe from Klaus."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Ah, in time. First thing's first. Where is it?"

"What?"

"The warehouse."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Klaus's warehouse." Milena pressed.

"Klaus may have compelled him." Annemarie said looking through the rearview. "He might not be able to tell us."

"Well, he better, or the deal's off. I'll throw you out and let Klaus find you if you don't tell us where it is."

"Alright, I'll tell you."

"See, I knew you were smart." Milena said smiling then she leaned forward looking him in the eye. "And you will not say a word to anyone about this."

Stefan came out of his flashback staring up at the ceiling with Elena next to him. He wanted to tell them what he knew, but he couldn't.

Andie came over and Damon let her in. "I found what you asked for." She said handing Damon a folder. Inside were old newspaper clippings and articles, etc. Damon walked back into the living room with Andie.

"What's that?" Caroline asked.

"Newspaper article from 1827." Damon said as he read it to himself.

"Apparently." Andie added. "There was a big ball held in the house Damon found Stefan in. It was hosted by a woman named Serena Petrova."

Damon's head slowly turned to look at Andie. "Petrova?"

"Yeah, it says so right…" She shuffled through the articles in the folder. "There it is. Serena Petrova. Apparently they were there before most of the founding families, but because it was only her and her two cousins who were both girls, no husbands, they weren't honored as one of the founders. But they were big supporters of the founding families, put a lot of money into the town."

"How much you want to bet Serena is the third girl?" Alaric said taking a drink.

Damon rushed upstairs to tell Stefan and Elena. He barged in surprising them.

"Damon." Elena squealed as she covered herself up.

"Look at this." Damon said throwing the folder in Stefan's lap. "The owner of that house – her name is Petrova."

"What?" Elena asked astonished as she sat up holding the covers over herself.

"Serena Petrova." Stefan read. "Hostess of the first founding banquet in 1860."

"The year the town was founded. Apparently, they were already here, but they weren't considering founders because they were all women." Damon explained.

"So the families founded the town and she held a party for them in their honor?" Elena asked.

"That's what it looks like." Stefan said.

"Then where is she?" Elena asked. "Why isn't she with the other two?"

"Maybe she's dead." Stefan suggested.

"I doubt it." Damon said. "A: they don't come across as the type who die easily, and B: her room was still perfectly set. If she died the room would've probably been stripped."

"Maybe." Stefan said.

"What I want to know – " Damon pressed. "Is how she's related to Katherine. Katherine is a Petrova, so is Elena."

"Maybe Serena is my great-great-grandmother or something." Elena suggested. "Is there a picture?"

"No." Stefan said showing her the article.

"The only one who would know is Katherine, and she's run off." Said Damon standing there with his arms crossed.

"We have to ask them." Stefan said.

"What? Why?"

"Like you said, Katherine's gone. If they're really related to Serena then they'll be able to tell us her connection to Elena." Stefan explained as he got out of bed wearing only his boxers. Damon left the room so they could get up and get dressed. His pants were on the floor so he picked them up and put them on. The he grabbed his shirt.

Meanwhile, Caroline was picking up Tyler from his house. He came out and got in the car. "I knew you'd show up." He said as he shut the door. She quickly pulled out of the driveway and started driving, with no set direction in mind.

"Where'd you go?" She asked.

"I had to take Jules' body back to the others. It's where she belonged, not buried out in the middle of nowhere."

"You couldn't have just said so?"

"Anyone ever tell you you worry too much?"

"What took you so long?"

"They wanted me to stay, but after what that vampire did to me, I had to come back and find out what the hell was going on."

"We still don't know. But, Stefan's back."

"How?"

"Oh, right." She remembered he was passed out by the time Milena started her persuasion. "Damon made a deal with her."

"A deal?"

"Yeah, they agreed to save Stefan as long as Stefan helped them in return."

"Helped them how?"

"We don't know." She looked ahead and hit the brakes as someone was standing in the road. "Oh god, not again."

Except this time it was Annemarie. She walked over to Tyler's window and knocked. Tyler looked to Caroline who nodded letting him know it was ok and he got out.

"So, you're the werewolf?" Annemarie said.

"Tyler." He corrected. "And you're a vampire."

"Look, all I want is what you stole."

"Tyler!" Caroline said astonished that he would steal something.

"I didn't steal anything." He said defensively.

"You unburied the bodies." She accused. "So give me back the stone and the necklace, and you can go on your merry little way." He didn't say anything. "You know, I could've let Milena deal with this like she wanted to, but due your previous experience, I took pity on you and came in her stead."

Realizing he wasn't going to win the argument he sighed. "I don't have them with me."

"Where are they?"

"At my house."

"Then I suggest you go get them and bring them to the boarding house." She said and then ran away.

"Tyler, why'd you take those?" Caroline asked.

"I didn't know." He said in his defense.

They got back in the car and did a u-y headed back to Tyler's house.

Back at the boarding house Milena was standing inside, in the kitchen, with Damon, Stefan and Elena. The others were still in the living room, and they didn't need to know.

"While we wait, how about you explain something." Damon suggested.

"And what might that be Damon?"

"Serena Petrova."

"How do you know about Serena?"

He pushed the folder across the counter, and she looked down to see the picture of the house in the paper article about the banquet. She just laughed. "I remember that, it was quite a party. They even offered for us to host the next year, but we weren't here."

"Who is Serena?"

"My cousin."

"Yeah, we know that, but how is she related to Elena?"

"Ah, the mystery of the Petrova Doppelganger. Sorry, that's classified."

"Classified?" Elena asked suspiciously raising her eyebrow.

"Afraid so. Sacred family secret."

"How do you expect us to trust you if you won't tell us what we want to know?" Damon asked.

"Because you don't need to know, there's a difference. And we saved your brother, thank you for very much, a little appreciation would be nice."

Annemarie came walking in. "Look, we don't work for Klaus, if that's what your concerned about." She said as she came to stand beside her cousin.

"Where's the werewolf?" Milena asked Annemarie snootily as if Annemarie did something wrong.

"He's coming."

"Tyler?" Elena asked curiously. "What do you want with Tyler?"

"He stole something and we want it back."

"He's coming, relax." Annemarie said again patting Milena on the back. "I know we have a lot of secrets, and frankly if I were you I wouldn't trust us either, but I gave you my word we meant you no harm, and we did save Stefan."

"Yes, but how did you do it? For all we know Klaus let you walk right in and take him as part of your little plan."

"Oh please, where's the fun in that?" Milena said. Elena's opinion of Milena was she was a lot like Damon, or at least the old Damon. She liked to wreak havoc and cause trouble, she thought it was fun.

"Klaus knows by now someone took Stefan, and he'll know to come back here to try to get him back. He doesn't know it was us, and the only safe place for all of you is our house."

"Why?"

"Because it's spelled. Klaus can't come in now that he's a hybrid, werewolves aren't allowed, unless invited."

"But vampires can come and go as they please, as you've figured out." Milena added with a grin.

"Ok, so Klaus won't be able to come in, but what about his vampire pals?"

"Don't worry about them."

"Look, trust us, don't trust us, I don't care." Milena said. "But when Klaus comes, you're going to need all the help you can get, so how about we worry about him right now, and you can worry about us after we save you." She said then stomped out of the kitchen and went straight for the front door. When she opened it Caroline was in front of her. "Oh look, vampire Barbie."

Tyler came to stand beside Caroline and handed Milena the wrapped up handkerchief he put the stone and the necklace in. She snatched it from his hand. "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not nice to steal?"

Ignoring her, he turned around.

"Wait." Caroline said grabbing him by the arm. "Tyler, don't go."

"Caroline I'm not staying in a house with them." He said pointing to Milena who got offended and glared at them to prove it.

"It's not safe. Klaus might be coming anytime."

"She's telling the truth." Said Milena. "But, hey, if you want to die."

Tyler sighed and followed Caroline into the house.


	6. Fight

**Disclaimer: I do not ownt the Vampire Diaries.**

**Chapter 6: Fight**

Everyone immediately packed all their stuff and were moved into the Estate in the woods. They had more rooms than Damon and Alaric had thought. They followed Annemarie into the kitchen and she opened the locked door that Damon had wanted to break. Since Damon and Alaric were the ones who broke in she let them in the basement first. They followed her down the stone stairs into the darkness. At the bottom she flipped the light switch and the basement lit up. It was nothing like what they expected, it wasn't a big secret holding secrets, it was a safe haven. The open area was a small kitchen, with a refrigerator and a stove. Another large fridge like their own sat along the wall. There were a couple rooms to the side with beds in it.

"What is this?" Alaric asked.

"Back in the 1860s when they set up the Founder's Council we used this place to hide other vampires, to keep them safe." Annemarie said. "These beds have harbored vampires, werewolves, even humans, anyone who was a friend in trouble. There's even a secret tunnel that leads out of town if they needed to escape."

"Now it's going to keep us safe?"

"Exactly." She said patting him on the back. "Look, I know what you guys were hoping to find down here, so I'll make you another deal. If we live through this, and we kill Klaus, and everything we hope for comes true, then we'll tell you everything you want to know."

"If we live through this?" Damon asked.

"For now, just trust us. I know Milena comes across like a bitch, but she doesn't trust you either. She'll come around." Annemarie headed back to the stairs.

"Hey." Alaric said getting her attention. "Thanks."

She grinned nodding her head and then kept on going, her long red dress flowing behind her. She always wore flowing dresses, Damon noticed. The two men eyed each other then followed her back upstairs.

Annemarie joined Stefan and Elena in the living room, Damon and Alaric followed her. "Alright, Stefan today is the day. We have to find it."

"I thought you said we were staying here?" Elena asked.

"You are. Stefan is going with us. If Klaus shows up we can protect him, don't worry."

"How, he's practically invincible unless you have a witch handy."

"I still have this." Milena said twirling her dagger on her palm. "It won't be able to kill him, but it will slow him down."

"No." Bonnie said. "We're not going to sit here like cattle, if you leave with Stefan."

"What? You going to follow us?" Milena asked.

"Milena, please." Said Annemarie cutting her off. "You don't need to agree to anything. We have you here, and you can't leave."

"What?" Damon asked.

"Enough chit chat, we're leaving." Milena said and grabbed Stefan by the back of his shirt and headed for the door. When Milena made it to the door she opened it and then stopped suddenly seeing who was standing there.

"Hello, my lovelies. Been a while." Klaus said.

"Niklaus."

"Let me think, Milena and…Annemarie. Correct?" He asked seeing Annemarie round the corner to stand behind her cousin.

"You found us faster than I was expecting." Milena said.

"I have been here before…You stole something from me." He said eyeing Stefan. "Come." He ordered but his compulsion didn't work.

"Sorry." Milena sighed. "You're on the wrong side of the veil, your compulsion won't work."

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Well, how are you going to do anything as long as I'm standing here? You're trapped inside your own haven."

"Oh, am I?" She pulled her dagger and stabbed him through the heart with it. He fell to the ground as if he were dead. "Hurry." She ushered Stefan out the door and over Klaus' body. "He'll wake up soon." Together the three of them ran off at vampire speed while the others watched through the door and windows.

When Klaus woke up he rolled to his back and pulled the dagger out angrily. Then he tried to rush into the house, but it was like he hit a wall. He stared down Damon who smirked at him. "Sorry, werewolves aren't allowed." Damon said and shut the door.

Klaus turned around and ran away, they watched from the window in the living room. "Now what are we supposed to do?" Caroline asked.

Bonnie grabbed her book. "This is a lot like the tomb, so maybe I can lift the curse and get us out of here."

"No." Jeremy said stopping her.

"Do you have any other ideas? What if Klaus gets to Stefan?"

Jeremy let her go and she sat down on the floor placing her book on the coffee table. They watched as Bonnie performed the spell, and Damon stood by the door waiting for a chance to run. He kept pushing while Bonnie kept saying the spell. It didn't take long for her nose to start bleeding and it was obvious she was struggling.

"Bonnie." Jeremy said getting worried.

"I almost got it." She said.

Damon stopped looking ahead and he could see a few people coming closer.

"Are those…?" Alaric began.

"Vampires." Damon finished for him.

"Bonnie." Elena ran back into the living room and grabbed Bonnie. "Bonnie, stop."

"No."

"Bonnie, please."

Caroline went upstairs to see Tyler and looked out the window. Then all the windows in the house shattered making Caroline jump backwards with a scream. Everyone in the living room jumped too, and Bonnie passed out.

Damon quickly turned around to see someone standing in the backdoor. It was too late, she lifted the curse and let them in. Alaric ran to his bag by the stairs and pulled out all his weapons. He started passing them around to everyone. Caroline came running downstairs.

"I hope you're ready." Damon said.

Stefan led them to the warehouse, except when they got there, there were more of Klaus's vampires waiting for them. Annemarie looked over her shoulder to Stefan. "No matter what you do, get to the unit that they're in." She told him before she looked to Milena. The vampires charged at them and the fight started. Stefan watched as the girls moved from one vampire to another ripping hearts out and tearing off heads.

"Now!" Milena cried to him and he took off running, but one of them blocked his way. Milena watched, waiting for Stefan to lose. The vampire attacked him and Stefan pulled a wooden stake and stabbed him through the heart with it. Then he ran again headed for the unit he remembered Klaus put Elijah's coffin into.

Back at the house the fight had already begun, and with Bonnie out that made it harder. Elena and Jeremy hid in the basement with Bonnie who hadn't woken up yet. Caroline was still upstairs with Tyler and they were fighting off vampires who came through the window. Then one came into the door and Caroline ran at him, but he was stronger than she was and he got her on the floor in a hurry. Tyler quickly turned to shoot him with a stake but was grabbed by another one and pulled out the window.

"Tyler!" Caroline yelled.

The vampire took Tyler to the front door holding a silver knife to his throat. "Hey!" the vampire yelled announcing himself. He was tall, dressed in nice jeans, cowboy boots, and a black coat. Damon and Alaric spun around to see him. The floor was covered with dead vampires. Alaric was wounded and bleeding from many different areas, but he was alive. Damon was injured too, but he kept healing. "I'll kill him."

"Please." Tyler whispered clearly afraid for his life.

Damon and Alaric put down their weapons distracting the vampire. Damon eyed Tyler, and Tyler didn't like it but he knew what he had to do. He quickly grabbed the vampire's arm that was holding him and bit down as hard as he could. The vampire hit Tyler sending him flying and into a tree knocking him out. Meanwhile, Damon ran at him with a stake killing him. Then he shut the front door and blocking it with his body. "We need help." Alaric said to Damon.

Milena and Annemarie ran over to Stefan who was standing beside the now open storage unit and they ran inside. They knew Klaus was coming so they had to hurry and they pulled Stefan inside before closing the door. Right before they got it closed, a hand stopped it broke it open pulling it outward. They saw Klaus standing there obviously angry. Milena hurried quickly opening one of the coffins, not caring who was inside and reached for the dagger in the woman's chest. Before she could pull it out Klaus grabbed her and threw her out of the unit and she landed on the floor a ways away.

Annemarie stared him down waiting for him to make a move. She backed up until she bumped into the one of the coffins, and quickly threw it open to reach for the dagger. She got it out before Klaus got to her. The one inside was the only one Stefan recognized – Elijah. While Klaus was busy fighting with Annemarie Stefan pulled the dagger out of the woman Milena had tried to get to. He took the dagger and stabbed Klaus through the back with it angering him even more and Stefan was knocked into the rack holding the coffins and one of them fell onto the floor breaking open allowing the body to roll out of it, another man.

Milena ran to Annemarie and they took each other's hands as Klaus glared at them again. He took one step and together they screamed as loudly as they could. Stefan quickly placed his hands over his ears as he fell to his knees. Klaus struggled but he took a couple more steps before he fell to his knees as blood flowed out of his ears. He tried to swing his arm to grab them once more before he collapsed.

Back at the house the same thing was happening. Vampires were falling to the ground left and right with blood coming out of their ears. Alaric looked out the window to see a figure coming forward and he seemed to be holding something. As it came forward she came to realize that it was a woman. Tyler was also on the floor alongside Damon. Alaric opened the door and stepped outside to confront the woman who came walking up to the house. She kept the device open, and looked to Alaric. "I suggest you kill them all before I turn this off."

Alaric did as she suggested and killed those who hadn't run away. There weren't that many left, those were still coming ran away to get away from the sound. Finally the pain ended and Damon was able to get up. He looked up at the woman standing just outside the door and he recognized her. She had short brown hair, brown eyes, and wore heels like the other girls with jeans and a tank top. She put the device in her pocket and looked down at Damon. "Now, may I ask what happened to my house?" She said trying to sound less irritated.

"A witch." Damon said weakly.

Stefan watched as Annemarie went from coffin to coffin pulling out daggers while Klaus lie on the floor. Milena started taking the bodies into another unit, one which still had a door so they would be safe until they woke up. Once they were all in, the three of them locked themselves inside with the eight bodies of four men and four women. Stefan kept his eyes on Elijah, the only one he knew.


	7. Second Generation

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

**Chapter 7: Second Generation**

They sat there in the storage unit eyeing each other out of boredom. The girls were awful quiet for a first time, Stefan noticed. They just kept watching the bodies, two in particular. Milena was sitting next to one of the men, he had short dark hair like her own, and his clothes looked like he was from the 18th century. Whereas, Annemarie was by one of the women, the one he pulled the dagger from who was dressed like she was from even earlier by about a century or two.

Stefan cleared his throat. "Alright, I think it's time we talked."They each turned to look at him with wonder. "You said if we lived through this you'd answer all the questions."

"We're locked inside a storage unit." Said Milena, who for once had imperfect clothes and hair. Her clothes were covered in blood and her hair had started to come out of its ponytail. Luckily, for Annemarie she had already been wearing red, so it wasn't so obvious. "Does it really look like we've made it out yet?"

"Just tell me why you went through all this for the originals?"

"What do you really know about them?" Annemarie asked keeping her eyes on the body in front of her.

"Other than Klaus and Elijah, nothing really."

"That's what I thought." She sighed.

Since Elijah had been dead the least amount of time, he woke up first. Stefan jumped to his feet seeing his body twitch, although the girls seemed unaffected by it. They waited for him to fully wake up and roll onto his stomach to see them. He got up on his knees breathing heavily. "Stefan? What – where are we?"

"A storage unit."

Elijah looked around to see his family all lying around him. Then he noticed the girls. "Who are you?"

"The ones who saved your life." Said Milena not even bothering to look at him. From the outside they someone was pounding on the door trying to get in, they knew it was Klaus. "I suggest you get comfortable Elijah." She added. "We're going to be here a while."

Everyone at the house had recovered from the device and Bonnie had woken up. Now everyone was sitting in the living room with Serena.

"So." Serena sighed. "You broke the spell protecting my house from our enemies and then Klaus's goons came after you."

"Pretty much." Alaric admitted.

"Which one of you is the witch who did this?" She enquired curiously.

"I did it." Bonnie admitted still a little groggy. "We thought we didn't have another choice. We had to get out of here to help Stefan."

"Stefan is…"

"My brother." Damon answered.

"Ah. He's the one Klaus took from you?"

"Yes." Elena answered.

"Well." Serena sighed. "Since you have rendered my house no longer safe I need to make a call. Excuse me." She excused herself from the room to go upstairs.

"Are you alright?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"I'll be fine. That spell was much stronger than the tomb."

Damon was looking down at his phone, he had a text from Stefan. 'We're alright. Don't know when we'll get back though.' "Stefan's ok." Damon announced. "Apparently they ran into some trouble. He doesn't know when they'll be back."

"Where are they?" Elena asked.

Damon shrugged putting his phone away. Alaric kept looking out the window, waiting for more to start coming after them, he still didn't feel safe. None of them did really with the veil, as Milena called it, broken. "I'm not so sure we should stay here." Alaric said.

"Neither am I." Said Serena rejoining the group. "The fact is this house is no longer safe, so I suggest you go home. Besides, I have a mess to clean up and a witch to wait for."

"You have a witch coming to put the veil back up?" Alaric asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Then we'll get out of your way." Alaric said turning away from the window and leaving the room to go grab his bags by the stairs. Everyone stood up and helped, grabbing a bag here and there.

Elijah sat there waiting with the others listening to his brother on the other side of the door pacing back and forth angrily. Every now and then he'd pound on the door again. He also couldn't stop thinking about the girls, trying to figure out who they might be and why they would be helping him and his family. Instead of asking twice, he turned to Stefan. "What happened?"

"After Klaus killed you he brought you here to reunite you with them and then he and I left town together."

"Together?" Elijah said surprised that Stefan had sided with him.

"It was the only way to get him to give me his blood to save Damon. He had been bitten by a werewolf and Klaus's blood was the cure."

"Yes, I know."

"And then these two brought me home, but Klaus followed."

"How valiant of them." Elijah said. "And what did they want in return?" The girls ignored him, let him talk to Stefan all he wanted and ask anything he wanted to ask. They knew he was simply trying to get a sense of their character, whether or not they were trustworthy.

"This place." Stefan answered surprising Elijah. "They wanted to me to lead them here to you."

"Why would you care to save my family?" Elijah asked looking from girl to girl. Their expressions though, hadn't changed, their eyes hadn't even moved from the two bodies they were watching and waiting to move.

"You'll find out soon enough." Annemarie answered. Elijah didn't like vague answers, but he had the sense enough to know that was all he was going to get from them. What bothered him most was the fact they seemed to know him, yet he had no recollection of them at all. "At least give me your names." He asked walking softly, trying not to overstep his boundaries.

The girls eyed each other as if asking each other what to do then they nodded agreeing, and it was Annemarie who spoke. "Annemarie, and Milena."

"Annemarie." He whispered thinking to himself. "I know that name." However, it had been so long he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Where did he know that name from?

Suddenly another body twitched. It was one of the other men, and not the one Milena was waiting for. This one had short brown hair like Elijah. They knew him to be the baby of the family, the last born of the seven children. He made it to his feet, he was a little wobbly, and Elijah stood up to help him.

"Elijah?"

"Hello, little brother."

"Get off me." He said harshly pushing Elijah away. "You're a traitor." He fell to his knees again breathing heavily and grabbing at his throat.

Elijah turned to Stefan and the girls. "We need blood if we're going to stay here."

Stefan agreed so he reached for his phone, but Annemarie snatched out of his hand. "None of your friends will be able to get anywhere near us with Klaus out there."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

Milena pulled out her own cell phone from within her high heeled boot. She seemed to text someone then dropped her phone into her lap to wait for a reply.

Serena pulled out her phone from her pocket and read the message from Milena. 'Blood.' Was all it said, but she knew what her cousin meant, so she texted back. She raced downstairs to the giant fridge full of blood bags and threw some into a duffle bag on top of some weapons. When she turned around there was a man standing there startling her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you." He said with a grin on his face enough to show teeth.

She smiled and gave him a hug. He kissed her hair before letting her go. "You're here sooner than I thought." She said.

"I could tell it was urgent."

"Yes, it is. I need that veil up like now, so get to work." She patted him on the shoulder as she walked past him. "I have to make a delivery."

"It'll be up by the time you get back." He promised her watching her go up the stairs.

"It better be." She said making him laugh to himself. She quickly made her way out of the house, which was now cleared of dead bodies, and into the woods.

Elena and Jeremy made it home safely and quickly locked all the doors. Once they were safely inside Damon turned around and headed home himself. Caroline made sure Bonnie made it and then Tyler, before she went home for the night. Everyone went to bed, Elena and Damon were the only two who couldn't sleep. Damon sat in his living room drinking as usual.

Elijah stayed close to his brother who had calmed down but was still extremely thirsty. He didn't seem as relieved to see his brother as Elijah was. Stefan could figure out why though, Elijah had sided Klaus after all, that was probably his treachery to his family that his little brother now hated him for.

"Daniel – " Elijah started but his brother cut him off not wanting to hear a word he had to say.

"Leave it, Elijah. Just leave it alone."

"I can't." he said. "I'm sorry."

"Apology not accepted."

"Brother, I don't understand."

"Siding with Klaus isn't the only thing you have to atone for and you know it."

"Do I?"

"Yes!" He yelled angrily.

"Daniel, please." Annemarie said interrupting the argument. "We are stuck in this box for who knows how long, the last thing we need it filled with is an overabundance of testosterone so calm down."

"Miss Marie." He said glaring at her.

"What?" She asked bitterly, seeming more like Milena than the way Stefan was used to seeing her.

He just gave her a smile reaching for her hand rather than answering and she relaxed smiling in return as he kissed he hand.

"You know her?" Elijah asked.

"Of course I know them." Milena cleared her throat eyeing him and he caught on to her message so he stopped talking. "We met a long time ago." He said. Stefan and Elijah had caught her subtle sign but they still didn't understand what he might have said to make her do that.

From outside they heard Klaus banging on the door again then he stopped as Serena walked in. They could all hear her heels clicking on the floor.

"Well, look who we have here." Klaus said. "Hello, Serena."

"Niklaus." She said less enthusiastically.

"What's that?" He asked pointing to the bag over her shoulder.

"A gift for our friends."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." He said walking closer to her threateningly, but she wasn't the least bit frightened because she still had the device in her pocket. She pulled it out and opened it with a flick and Klaus soon fell to his knees. She rushed by him and knocked on the door in a rhythm.

"Serena." Annemarie sighed. "Milena, open the door."

Milena did as she was told and took the boards they used as a lock off letting the door fly up. Serena threw the bag inside and grabbed the door before it got all the way up so she could close it again. "Serena, what are you doing?" Milena asked bewildered.

"You know I can't stay in there." She whispered. "I won't do it."

Milena nodded and together they closed the door. Milena locked it back up and heard Serena leave as the sound ended. Stefan was able to take his hands off his ears as the pain subsided. What he didn't understand, among the many other things about them, was how they were unaffected by the device when even the originals had to cover their ears.

MIlena quickly opened the duffle bag and handed a couple bags to everyone before resting back into her spot next to the dark haired man.

Stefan looked down at his watch and realized it was nearly midnight. He didn't think it was that late already. Not that time flew inside that box. It went silent as everyone was busy satisfying their hunger. He noticed Daniel had fallen asleep when he finished the three bags he tore through. Stefan could only imagine what it must be like to be dead for so long then to suddenly wake up. Just as he was thought that the body Milena had been waiting for finally twitched rolling onto one side right up against her making her jump, but she quickly put her hands on him to comfort him. Elijah quickly eyed him as well; he was his older brother, his only older brother, Alexander.

The man rolled onto his back and Milena placed his head in her lap trying to comfort him. She seemed to suddenly be so excited and emotional, a way neither Stefan nor the others had ever seen her before. His eyes opened and he looked up at her seeming confused as if he thought he were dreaming. His hand came to her face to make sure she was real and her hand flew to his and she kissed it lovingly. "Milena?" He whispered.

Now Elijah was figuring it out. He knew where he had heard Annemarie before. Annemarie was the name of his sister's firstborn daughter.

Milena nodded her head answering him that it was really her.

He smiled at her and she helped him up for a hug wrapping her arms around him as she cried softly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too Papa."

Now everything was falling into place inside Stefan's head. That explained every unanswered question. Why they were there, and why they hated Klaus. It explained how they were able to compel him in the car that day…they were Originals, another generation of Originals. But it still left one question…why didn't the device work on them?


	8. Freedom

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries**

**Chapter 8:**

**And Thank you very much those who have reviewed, please keep them coming**.

Klaus woke up laying on what he first thought was just a dirty floor, then he realized no it was actually the ground. He looked around while his senses came back to life and saw that two of the walls around him were bars like a jail cell, the others were cement. It was dark, only one dim chandelier of candles hung above the person standing just outside the bars staring at him with her arms folded across to rest on one of the cross bars.

"Serena." Klaus groaned. "Where the hell am I?"

"Nowhere you can escape from." She answered confidently.

He laughed insanely as he usually did when confronted in such ways. He thought himself to be invincible after all, so why not laugh at others' stupidity in trying to beat him.

"You realize I could have killed you back at the warehouse as you lied unconscious, yet I spared you. Now why would I do that Niklaus?"

"Klaus." He corrected harshly.

"The only reason you're still breathing is because, unfortunately, your life is not mine to take."

"Is that so?" He asked coming to stand on his feet then rushed to the bars slamming against them threateningly but she didn't budge, he didn't frighten her anymore. Serena hadn't been afraid of her uncle, or anyone for that matter, in a long time. "I thought it was because you didn't have it in you."

"I'm a Petrova." She stated proudly. "Our fire burns strong enough to do anything."

"You don't look like a Petrova." He said trying to entice her. Klaus knew her probably better than he knew any of their generation. "You look like him."

Hearing the mention of her father, Serena gave her uncle a cruel and threatening look as if she were ready to set him ablaze with her eyes. Then as if to speak she took in a breath and opened her mouth and Klaus backed away slightly from the bars. With a sly grin she sealed her lips again. "You know I don't need that device to bring you to your knees." She stated with her voice low. Then she turned to the candles and blew them out leaving them both in darkness, and turned on her heels to leave. "Enjoy Hell, Niklaus. The cavalry should be here soon." He could hear her heels as they went up a set of stairs and she was gone.

Since Klaus was out of the warehouse it was safe to escape, so Milena and Annemarie opened the door. Half of the family still hadn't woken up yet. About an hour after Alexander, the first female of the group woke up, however it wasn't the one Annemarie was waiting on, who was her mother named Marisa. Instead it was the youngest sister, Cathandra, who had long dark hair and blue eyes like her brother Alexander, and she wore a dress from the 16th century or so. They really didn't want to leave with four still technically dead, but frankly they had been in that box long enough and needed air, so they all helped carry the four remaining family members out of the warehouse.

Rather than carrying them all the way to the house, Milena looked to Stefan with a grin making him nervous at what could be going on inside her head. "Stefan?"

"Yes?" He asked.

"Do you think your friends could possibly…borrow a truck?"

"You mean steal?"

"Well, yes, but borrow sounded so much better. Look, we need a truck to put them in so we can get them to the house safely."

He nodded understanding and agreed. "I'll call Damon."

"Thank you." She said sincerely. She was still attached to her father who had his arm around her as he kept his eyes on his parents and two sisters who still had yet to wake.

Damon was still in bed staring at the ceiling when he heard his phone ring from his pocket. "What?" He asked as he answered it.

"Hey, they're asking for a little favor." Stefan told him.

"And why should I give it?"

"Because they saved our lives, Damon. We owe them."

"The possibly saved our lives."

"You still don't trust them?"

"No. What do they need us for anyway if they're so tough?"

"They need a truck. Four of the eight Originals are still dead technically so they need a truck to drive them to the estate."

Damon quickly sat up. "Four of the eight Originals? They're here?" Damon asked getting worried.

"Yes, Damon. Klaus had them hid here in a warehouse. That's what the girls wanted me for. He brought me here to dispose of Elijah."

"Well aren't you handy."

"Come on, Damon. Just get the truck and I'll meet you at Elena's." He said then hung up on his brother.

"You're leaving?" Milena asked not exactly happy about the concept.

"I just want to make sure Elena's alright. I'll be back with the truck."

"Word?" She asked.

"Yes, you have my word."

She nodded in agreement with him and then he took off running as blur then he was gone.

"Are you alright?" Alexander asked his daughter as he ran his hand through her hair which was now down. It was shorter than he remembered, and straighter. Her hair used to have a slightly natural curl to it like his own did when it was longer.

She looked up at him smiling and hugged him again feeling happy just to hear his voice and feel his arms around her for the first time in centuries. "I'm fine." She promised.

Elijah watched them, and Daniel watched him. The look on Elijah's face was almost of longing and jealousy, but he was good at hiding his emotions and keeping a straight face. Daniel wanted nothing more than to beat the look off his big brother's face, but he wouldn't. He wasn't his to deal with, not yet. There was someone else Elijah had to face first, a few actually.

Serena made it back upstairs and came into her large parlor on the far side of the stairs across from the kitchen to see the man she called relaxing on one of the chairs with his cowboy boots up and his hands behind his head. Nathaniel was a tall and lean man, and extremely handsome in many women's eyes. He had short dark blond hair, or light brown whichever way a person wanted to look at it, and beautiful light blue eyes.

"Comfy?" She said as she walked into the room.

One eye opened slightly to see her then closed again and a smile stretched across his lips. "That veil is no small task, you know. I deserve a break."

"You realize who is downstairs?"

"I do."

She needn't bother then trying to ask why he didn't bother to see Klaus. Nathaniel and Klaus had never met, but there was always tension, as Klaus was the cause of his family's death.

"Do you realize who's coming?"

"Serena." He sighed letting his feet fall to the ground and thus the chair rock forward so he was sitting up. "I will be gone by the time they get here, don't worry."

"You don't have to leave."

"Yes, I do." He stated as he stood from the chair fixing his shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up and the buttons undone. Once they were fixed he reached for his jacket hanging on the back of the chair. "We both know what will happen if the old man finds out about me." He said slipping his jacket back on and leaving the parlor headed for the door.

"Nathan – " She tried walking after him.

He stopped her turning around and grabbing her by the arms. He could see the hurt in her eyes. They had always been close, like siblings, and it always hurt to say goodbye. They would never part if they could. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I'll come back." He assured her. "When the time is right." With that said he reached behind him to open the door and backed away smiling, then bowed respectfully making her laugh instead of cry, before he closed the door behind him.

Damon and Alaric were in Damon's car and pulling off the road to park the car in the grass away from anything. He realized Alaric had come to be his partner in crime. He had called him earlier and informed him on their little mission for the day of stealing a truck, a semi with a trailer being the best choice to hide ten people. They had passed a warehouse about a mile back where trucks were parked in the loading dock waiting to be loaded. Alaric was to stay there and watch after the car, and to drive it back to Mystic Falls, while Damon drove the truck. So he got out of the car as Alaric came around to the driver's side.

"You sure this will work?" Alaric asked.

"All I have to do is compel the guy to give me the truck. Besides, we're only borrowing it, we'll bring it back." Damon said patting Alaric on the shoulder. "Get going." He added as he walked away.

Alaric sighed and got in then did a u-y on the road headed back home. Meanwhile Damon walked down the side of the road whistling to himself.

Elena woke up to see Stefan lying beside her and she snuggled up next to him happily. "You made it back." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, it seems Klaus is gone, but he might come back." Stefan was still worried and it showed. He didn't know what had happened to Klaus, he figured he left to get more reinforcements then would come back even stronger and more determined.

"What about the others?"

"They're fine…Remember Elijah saying there was a whole family of Originals?"

Elena lifted her head curious as to what he was getting at. "Yeah."

"They're all here."

"All of htem?"

"Klaus hid them in that warehouse."

"That's what the girls wanted? The Originals? But why?"

He swallowed unsure of how to explain the new information he had learned about the girls. One generation of originals was enough, but a second to worry about. And he didn't know how many more there were, because he doubted it was just those three girls. "Revenge." He told her. "Against Klaus."

"So, they freed them simply to get back at Klaus? Stefan, they have to have a motive. They wouldn't have just freed you so they could also free them without there being something in it for themselves."

"Revenge for all of them." He corrected himself.

It took a second for it to sink in and process. "You mean, it's their family too?"

He nodded. "Those girls are Originals too. I should have figured it out sooner, when they compelled me."

"They compelled you?"

"After they saved me, Milena compelled me so that I couldn't tell anyone what they wanted me for."

It made sense now. He had kept saying he didn't know what the girls wanted when in actuality he did, he just couldn't say it. It also explained their fearlessness when it came to Klaus, enough to take Stefan from him. "What are we going to do?" Elena asked. "With so many originals here in Mystic Falls, who knows what could happen. They could cause real trouble, Stefan. A lot of people could get hurt."

"I know." He said trying to calm her down as he kissed her forehead. "But, I don't think they'll be here much longer. I think once the rest wake up they'll leave."

"What if they don't?"

That was a good question, Stefan thought. He had no idea. They couldn't defeat one original. How could they ever stand up to the whole family?

Damon arrived with the truck at Elena's house as promised. Elena looked at her bedroom window curiously. "What is Damon doing?" She asked seeing him walking out around the truck.

"They wanted a truck, so Damon got them a truck." Stefan explained. "You can stay here if you want, or come with us."

"Where?"

"To the warehouse then back the estate."

Elena agreed and started getting dressed while Stefan rushed down to meet his brother outside. "Big enough?" He asked rhetorically.

Damon wasn't amused, as usual. "Eh, why not?"

Elena came walking out the door and then they all climbed in, Damon on the driver's side and Elena sat in the back while Stefan sat up front with Damon. It was a nice truck on the inside, Elena noticed, polished wood finish, wood floors, leather seats, and a nice big bed in the back which she was sitting on.

It wasn't long until they made it to the warehouse and everyone immediately stopped talking and doing whatever it was they were doing to watch the semi pull in front of them. They hadn't expected a full size semi either, but it worked.

"Not bad." Milena admitted as Stefan climbed out. Elena and Damon stayed inside. Stefan walked to the back of the trailer with the girls and they opened it together so the others could be carried inside. The four who were awake carried the four who weren't and Annemarie followed, unwilling to leave her mother in case she woke up. So Milena stayed outside with Stefan to close the door, and then she joined them in the truck to guide them in where they were going. She sat up front with Damon while Stefan joined Elena on the bed.

Milena led them not far out of Mystic Falls, just past the sign which read 'Now Leaving Mystic Falls', and then they turned right down a side road off the highway. Down that road a ways then turned right again onto another road.

Inside the trailer Marisa finally woke up, making Annemarie happy. She quickly grabbed a hold of her mother letting her know who it was since it was dark. "Mama, mama, sh…it's me."

"Annemarie?"

"Yes."

"Oh, my baby." Marisa cried wrapping her arms around her daughter as she stayed lying on the floor. Elijah handed Annemarie a bag of blood to give to Marisa.

"Here, Mama." Annemarie said handing her the now open bag. Marisa took it without hesitation as thirst took over.

They followed that road until it turned into a dirt road and then stopped and Milena got out to open a gate on the left side which had a private property sign on it. Once it was open she guided Damon in, it was a tight turn for such a large truck but they made it and then she came up to the driver's side opening the door. "I think I should take over now." Damon scooted over to the passenger seat while she climbed in. They were surprised she actually knew how to drive. She seemed like the type who would always have a chauffeur to drive her around. She slowly drove the truck down the windy narrow path, it was also bumpy from erosion over the years. The house hadn't been used in so long that they didn't need delivery trucks driving up and down it so they didn't take care of it. It even had multiple forks, so that only those who were meant to be on that path knew where they were going.

Finally, they made it to the house and Milena turned to the side so she could back the trailer up to what looked like a large shed, or garage. Once it was parked they all got out and Milena and Stefan opened the doors again. Milena seen her aunt was awake now and rushed to hug her. "Aunt Marisa." She said happily. She and her aunt had always been close when she was alive, considering how close she was to Annemarie. When it came to the second generation all the members of the first stuck together really to take care of them, those that survived anyway.

Milena and Annemarie led them all out and into the shed which Damon and Stefan opened for them with the key Milena gave them. Inside was full of random junk, cement bags were piled in one corner, tools and such hanging from the walls like shovels and rakes, wooden planks piled against another wall, etc. In the middle of the floor, though, was a trap door under a large tarp which was covered in so much dust the boys didn't even notice it was there. They jumped back with Milena grabbed and jerked it sending dust flying. Annemarie opened the door with the key after taking it back from Damon and then led the others down. Elijah was carrying his mother bridal style, while Alexander carried their father, and Daniel carried their other sister. They went in first after Annemarie and Milena, the brothers and Elena brought up the rear as they followed the tunnel which led into the basement of the house.


	9. Twin Syndrom

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**Thanks again for the reviews, they really help keep me going. **

Serena was walking through her house reading the newspaper out of boredom while waiting for her family. Meanwhile, downstairs the others were just getting into the basement. To be safe they left the four of those still asleep in the beds downstairs and made sure there was blood with them should they wake up. As the girls were heading upstairs they heard a scream. Everyone suddenly stopped looking at each other curiously then they heard it again. It wasn't a scream of fear, it was someone in pain.

"Serena!" Annemarie yelled and ran as fast as she could up the stairs with Milena and their uncle Daniel hot on her heels. When they came into the living room Serena was doubled over on the floor, her empty bowl beside her. She was clutching her stomach and groaning in pain. "Serena." Annemarie whined worried about her. Daniel noticed her pointing at the bowl so he picked it up and sniffed it. She and Milena both examined her body for injuries but she seemed fine. Then Milena had an idea so she pulled Serena's jacket sleeve up to reveal her arm. By then, everyone was standing around, and they all saw the markings on her arm – latin words – like tattoos. One of them looked as if it was burning.

"Marie." Milena said getting her cousin's attention. Annemarie looked up.

Just then, someone kicked in the door and ran into the room. Damon, Stefan, and Elena had never seen him before. Nathaniel knelt down next to Serena across from the girls and grabbing her face made her look up at him. "Where is he?" He asked her calmly. She didn't answer, instead she went back into cringing and moaning in pain. "Serena, we can't help you without him."

"I – I don't know." She stammered.

"Alright, move." He told the girls and then slid his hands under Serena's body. "Come on." He whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck knowing what he was trying to do. "Good girl." He soothed. "I got you." He picked her up off the floor and turned. "Move!" He ordered everyone and then ran her up the stairs to her bedroom.

Daniel eyed Elijah as if waiting for him to do something, but when he didn't he gave him an angry glare then ran upstairs. "Who do you need?" He asked as he came into the room.

"Sebastian." Nathaniel answered. He left the girls to attend to her and stood in front of Daniel. "Hello, uncle."

"Nathaniel." Daniel greeted less enthusiastically. Nathaniel was a good man, but he was never that high on the family's favorite list. "Why do you need Sebastian?"

"If one twin dies they both die. She is perfectly fine, which means he is the one that's out there somewhere dying. I have to find him." Nathaniel walked past his uncle and then they all watched him leave not even shutting the door behind him, he was just a blur and gone.

Daniel turned back around to look at Serena lying there in the bed and she had gone quiet. He watched her eyes drift closed as she passed out. He knew she wasn't dead because the girls would have broken down into tears if she were, so he felt some small relief in that. He turned to leave the room deciding that the girls had it covered. Milena followed him and nearly all the way down she turned to Elena who was leaning over the side looking up curiously. "Elena, I want to ask one more favor of the three of you, if you don't mind."

"Sure." Elena said a little uncertain if she really wanted to agree to it, but they had saved Stefan and hadn't done anything wrong, so she gave them the benefit of the doubt. "What is it?"

"It may seem a little strange, but as you've noticed everyone, with the exception of your friend Elijah over there, doesn't exactly fit in with the times if you catch my meaning."

She looked behind her for a moment and realized what they were wearing and nodded. "So you want me to do what exactly? Go shopping?"

"Yes. I was planning on doing it myself, but I can't leave Serena."

"I understand." Elena said sweetly.

"So you'll do it then?"

"Sure." Elena agreed and Milena smiled in gratitude and quickly ran up to her room then back down holding her wallet. She handed Elena a credit card.

"Buy two outfits for everyone. It doesn't matter what it costs." Elena now knew they were rich like Elijah, because the card was unlimited. "And take the boys with you." She said pointing to Damon and Stefan before heading back upstairs. Stefan stepped forward taking her hand and they headed out, Damon followed less than thrilled.

At the store, the nicest one in town, Damon noticed Alaric had texted him wondering where he was so he answered back with the name of the store. It wasn't much longer after that that he showed up with nothing better to do.

"What's going on?" He asked curiously.

"The richest family on the planet needs help fitting in." Damon answered. He wasn't really shopping, just looking around out of boredom.

"Well, Caroline is looking for you. I think she just wants an update on whether or not it's safe."

"We don't know where Klaus is." Stefan chimed in from behind Alaric as he leaned against one of the racks.

Alaric turned around to face him. "He just vanished?"

Stefan shrugged. "Or they have him locked up somewhere." He suggested.

"He should've been dead by now." Damon said. "If they're Originals, they have the power to do it. So why haven't they?"

"Maybe they're waiting for the others."

Damon huffed not believing that story. Damon was well known for not trusting people, and it was a hard thing to earn his trust, and they had yet to do it. They wouldn't earn it until Klaus was dead.

"Did you notice those marks on her arm?" Elena asked standing with a bunch of dresses hanging over her arm. The image was burned into her head and she couldn't stop thinking about it.

"It was Latin." Damon said still mindlessly looking at random clothes. "It looked like names."

Elena kept thinking and she also couldn't help but wonder about why Elijah was acting so strange. "And what about Elijah?"

"What about him?" Stefan asked curiously.

"He's not acting the same. And the way his siblings look at him all the time like they're angry."

"He sided with Klaus, of course they're angry." Stefan said.

"No, I think it's more than that."

"Well." Stefan said remembering what Daniel had said when he first woke up. "Daniel did say something about how that wasn't the only thing he had to atone for."

"Who cares?" Damon said. "I should go find Caroline before she gets herself in trouble." Damon muttered and left the store.

Elena and Stefan looked at each other and shrugged, there was nothing more they could do. Alaric offered to help them so they could get the shopping done quicker.

Damon found Caroline, Tyler, and Bonnie hanging out at the park, school had just gotten out so they were wondering where Elena and Stefan were. Caroline was laughing like she was flirting with Tyler, which was nothing new, and Bonnie was staring off into space deep in thought until Damon sat down.

"You were looking for me." He said.

"Yeah." Caroline answered. "Where's Elena?"

"Shopping." Damon answered vaguely. When they gave him a blank confused look he clarified, but he didn't want them to know everything, so he left parts out. "Milena asked her to do it."

"So it's safe?" Caroline asked.

"Not exactly." He answered truthfully getting Bonnie's attention.

"Klaus is still alive?" Bonnie asked.

"Probably." He answered and seeing her ill amused expression he added, "We don't know where he is."

"Did you ask them?"

"No." He said like the idea of asking them for anything was absurd. Then he got up having done what he was there to do. He just wanted to go home and not be bothered.

"So then what are we supposed to do?" Tyler asked. "Hide?"

"Do whatever you want." Damon said. "Just stay out of the way, and don't get yourselves killed." He walked away.

Bonnie wasn't one to stay out of anything. If there was a chance Klaus was still a threat, she had to do something. She just wasn't sure what.

Back at the estate, Elijah stepped away from the crowd and went downstairs to see those still asleep. Except when he got down there he noticed one of them curled up in a corner with one of the bags of blood already torn apart and on the floor and another in her hand. He stepped closer. "Elise?"

Hearing her name his sister lowered the bag from in front of her face to eye the face where the familiar voice came from. "Elijah?"

Happily he sat next to her and gave her a hug. He nearly cried feeling overwhelmed with emotions he hadn't felt in such a long time. She was the first one who actually accepted him, the others kept glaring at him for the things he had done in the past. Elise was the oldest, the first born, and the most like their mother. She had their father's dark hair, and blue eyes as well, and their mother's slim hourglass figure. Her hair was long, past her back, and it hung elegantly from over her shoulder, even thought it was a bird's nest.

"I forgive you, you know." She whispered into his ear. "I forgave you a long time ago."He pulled away to look her in the eye curiously. "I know you. I've known you since the day you were born, and I know you wouldn't have done the things you did without reason. Am I wrong?"

Guiltily he swallowed hard and hung his head answering, "No."

With her hand she lifted his head by his chin smiling at him to reassure him it was going to be alright. Then she rested back against the wall again and continued drinking.

Upstairs, Elena, Stefan and Alaric made it back to the estate with plenty of large bags full of clothes for them. Hearing them return, Milena came back downstairs and went through the bags in the living room. Since there were four awake, and there were four bathrooms, it was perfect. She handed a suit to Daniel, and Alexander, then held up a third and realized Elijah was gone. "Where'd he go?" She asked worried that he had run away.

"He's downstairs." Alexander answered taking it from her. He went down there to give it to him himself.

"Well, when you're ready, you can go in my bathroom to take a bath." She told him as he walked away. Then she turned to her aunt and handed her a long blue dress. The only thing left was to bathe, so she led her aunt and uncle upstairs. She showed Marisa into Annemarie's bathroom and showed her how to use it, then led Daniel into Serena's bathroom. With those two set she waited for her father and uncle.

Alexander stood there staring at Elise and Elijah who were now talking since Elise had finished drinking. Elise looked at her little brother with awe and smiled. "Alexander." She greeted before standing. He met her and hugged her giving her a kiss as well on the temple. "Elise. It's good to see you again sister."

"You too." She said kissing his cheek.

Alexander turned to his brother and threw the clothes at him. "For you." He said. "Go clean yourself up."

Elijah obeyed his older brother, the only sibling he feared aside from Klaus, however his fear of his brother was nothing like that of his father. He dreaded him waking, knowing then he'd really be in for scolding for all his misdoings in the past.

"You need a bath too little brother." Elise said. "Go with him, and don't be so harsh. I'll wait here for mother and father." She gestured to the beds behind her and the bodies lying on them. "Go on." She urged giving him a little shove and with a sly grin he backed away to follow Elijah upstairs.

After they all bathed and got dressed, Milena decided they all needed a makeover as well to look the part. Elise soon came upstairs interrupting Milena in the kitchen with her father cutting his hair.

"They're awake." She announced getting all her sibling's attention.


	10. Answers

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

Now clean in every way the five siblings they'd never met were gathered in the living room looking at Elena and Stefan. Alaric had left some time ago, as a teacher he had other priorities. On the couch across from them sat the three sisters: (From left to right) Marisa, Elise, and Cathandra. Marisa's hair had been cut slightly and she really looked like her daughter, except her hair was brown like Elijah's where Annemarie was blond like her Prussian father. Elise's hair had been cut quite a bit, it was just long enough to cover her chest as it hung over her shoulder blending with her black dress. Cathandra was also dark haired and unlike the others she had brown eyes instead of blue. She had her hair now really short, shoulder length, which was Milena's doing, and she wore a shiny yellow dress. Luckily, for Elena, they were all extremely thin and wore the same size. The men were all the same size as far as width too, but Alexander was taller, where Elijah and Daniel were pretty much the same height. Alexander sat in the armchair beside them with one leg over his knee like a gentleman. They were all so fancy and sophisticated Elena felt out of place.

"So." Alexander said, as he was the oldest man present. Elena had to remember, women in their day didn't speak before men. "You're the fabled doppelganger." He said rhetorically taking a sip of wine out of his glass. They all seemed to be staring at her, probably thinking the same thing. They had all known the original Petrova to whom she resembled.

"And you're the Originals." She said just as rhetorically, not knowing what else to say.

Alexander smirked. "You don't need to be shy…"

"Elena." She said.

"Elena." He said her name sweetly. "You have no reason to fear us."

"We have no reason to trust you either." Stefan said surprising them. It was bold of him to say such a thing.

"Bold words." Alexander warned. "But perhaps true. You don't know us."

"We know your brother." Elena said causing Elijah to turn his head to look at her. He was leaning against the archway.

Alexander looked at Elijah and he lowered his gaze in fear. "Do you trust him?" He asked keeping his eyes on Elijah.

"Yes, we do." She stated surprising Alexander who looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "He saved me from Klaus."

"Tell me something." Alexander said. "Has Klaus managed to break his curse?"

"Yes." Stefan answered.

"And still you trust Elijah?"

"Yes." Stefan repeated. "Though, he didn't kill him as promised, he protected Elena, for which I am grateful."

"Elijah." Alexander said without even looking at him.

"Brother?"

"Why did you not kill Niklaus?" Alexander was obviously angry as he picked at the arm of the chair mindlessly.

"He swore to take me to you." Elijah answered. "But I was misled and he killed me just the same."

"So have you learned from your mistakes then?"

"I have."

Finally Alexander turned to face his brother and urged him to come over. Alexander stood worrying Elijah that he was in for a fight, but instead Alexander stretched out his arms and waited for Elijah to hug him. Elijah stepped forward hesitantly and when he saw that it was safe he hugged his brother letting himself relax. "I forgive you." Alexander said.

The door was kicked in and in walked Nathaniel carrying a young man's body. He rushed upstairs with him and put him in his own bedroom which was on the opposite of the upstairs. Nathaniel laid him down on the bed. "Milena!" He called loudly and she ran over to see her cousin lying on the bed covered in blood, his own blood. His body wasn't healing, meaning he'd been poisoned with white oak ash. It would kill them if stabbed through the heart with a dagger, but if consumed it was like poison. The only comparison was a werewolf bite. Milena quickly got a towel from his bathroom and used it to start cleaning him up. "I'll do it." Nathaniel said taking off his bloody shirt and handing it to her while she handed him the towel.

"It's not like I haven't seen a naked man before." She stated.

"Milena." He wasn't up for stupidity at the moment.

She left the room and took his shirt down the hall to the laundry room.

Downstairs everyone was looking up at her through the banisters. She looked down as she came out of the laundry room. "Sebastian?" Daniel asked her.

"Alive, but that's about all that can be said. It doesn't look good."

Daniel got upset and rushed upstairs, he had to see for himself. He walked into the room to see a shirtless Nathaniel, who was also covered in blood, cleaning the wound in Sebastian's chest. Sebastian had no shirt or pants. He was also bleeding from his leg. Daniel immediately began helping, and began on the wounded leg. Nathaniel glanced over at him, but didn't say anything, then went back to work.

Alexander looked to Elijah. Elena noticed it, and frankly all the looks Elijah was getting had her confused. She knew the only way she'd get answers was to ask him herself. "Elijah." She said. "Can I talk to you?" She led him away from the others and into the parlor on the other side of the stairs. "Why do they keep looking at you like that?"

"I don't know what you mean." He said avoiding her question and tried to walk away, but she grabbed him by the arm. "I'm not blind. You're afraid of your own family, and they look at you like…I can't explain it. Daniel most of all."

"Klaus killed them, and I didn't do anything about it. That's all you need know." He told her then walked away. Getting bold she followed him and made herself clear in front of the whole family, including his parents who were now standing there. "No, we deserve to know what's going on." Elijah turned around to look at her. "We're involved now, and we want answers."

"Is that so?" Their father asked pushing his way past his children to stand before her. She tried to hide her fear of the tall and lean family leader. She had heard his name too, the same as his eldest son. Their father was Alexander II, making his son Alexander III. His wife was Anne, who Annemarie was named after. He stood there with his hand in his pocket eyeing her waiting for her to react. "What do you want to know?" He asked her calmly.

Upstairs they had finished stitching Sebastian's wounds and had him tucked under the covers to keep him warm since he was running a fever and sweating. Daniel was angry, and it showed. "Nathaniel." He said. "I trust you know who did this."

"The correct question would be which one did this; Klaus or Luke."

"Luke?" Daniel asked not recognizing the name.

"Lucretius." He answered as he walked out the door and turned right to go to his own bedroom. Daniel knew that name, and despised it. Unfortunately, there was nothing more that could be done for now, not until he woke up, and when he woke up, so would Serena. He never understood how their connection worked. When they were children he remembered that they always had the sense of what the other was feeling and thinking, typical twin sensory, but when they became vampires it enhanced into so much more. Whatever happened to one, then happened to the other, or at least they had the same symptoms.

"I know Elijah." Elena said looking at each of them as she stood by the stairs. "He's a noble man, and I trust him. He's also a very strong man, and now he's not. He's changed. I understand his betrayal in siding with Klaus and staying by him for so long, but it's more than that isn't it?"

"You realize you're asking for information that you have no business knowing." Said Alexander II.

"I just want to understand."

Alexander sighed giving in. "Because you are a Petrova I will tell you."

"That's another thing, is Serena a Petrova?"

"One question at a time." Alexander said impatiently. "Now, understand something. I will not tell you the whole story, that is for my son to tell you if he so chooses. All I will say, is siding with Niklaus was not his only mistake, there was one he made at the same time which was much worse and which disappointed me as a father more than anything ever had." He said eyeing his son. Elijah hung his head with his eyes up knowing she too was looking at him curiously.

"What did you do?" She asked softly unable to think of anything so horrible.

"The day he left with Niklaus was the day he walked away from his family."

"How does that answer my question?" She asked frustrated, it was obvious he abandoned them to go with Klaus.

"He said _my_ family." Said Elijah raising his head to look at his father. "Not his."

It took a second for Elena to understand. Stefan understood it immediately, and frankly lost some of his respect for Elijah in that moment. "You had a family?" She asked.

Elijah nodded.

"And he abandoned them." Said Daniel from the banisters above.

"Is that true?" Elena didn't want to believe it. She didn't understand why she wanted to have so much faith in him, probably because she knew he felt, he had feelings unlike Klaus. It was obvious, he had loved Katherine, and saved her. How could he abandon his own wife?

"It's true." He sighed regretfully.

"Now." Said their father moving on from the subject. "To answer your other question, yes. Serena is a Petrova, because her mother was." Well, it was safe to say their initial guess that she was somewhere between Katherine and herself in the bloodline was wrong, now they knew she was an Original, and therefore much older than Katherine. Was she older than the original doppelganger, Elena wondered.

Meanwhile, Damon was in the boarding house again drinking in the living room with Andie for company. "This is really bugging you isn't it?" She asked him as she sat in his lap with her arms around his neck. He didn't say anything. "What has you so confused?"

"They didn't kill him." He stated. "If it was so easy to save Stefan than it should be easy to kill Klaus."

"I'm sure they have a reason."

"Of course they can't just tell us. They have to be mysterious." He whispered waving his hand in the air in mockery. "And they're Originals. Two was too many, the last thing I need is the whole family in my town."

"Is that all your questions?" Asked Alexander II.

"No." Said Stefan stepping in from the living room beside Elijah. Alexander II eyed him curiously with an eyebrow raised. "There's a device, it's from my time, 1860's, it was made by Johnathan Gilbert."

"Yes?"

"Well, it releases a sound that brings every vampire and werewolf to their knees. Everyone except for them." Stefan said gesturing upstairs. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know the device, so I am unable to tell you." Alexander answered.

Nathaniel came downstairs then, now in clean jeans and an unbuttoned shirt, having overheard the conversation and leaning up against the railing with his arms resting on it, he looked to Stefan. "But I can." He said.

"I'm listening."

"Isn't it true that Johnathan Gilbert didn't actually get the thing to work? It was a woman, what was her name?" He thought to himself.

"Pearl."

"Yes." He said snapping his fingers. "her."

"You know her?"

"Know her? I'm the one who helped her."

"What?" Stefan asked.

"That sound you're hearing when it's on." Said Nathaniel with a sly grin on his face. "Is me."

"That's not possible."

"No?" Nathaniel said curiously. Then with a slight laugh he loudly yelled, "Wooh!" as he stared at Stefan and it was only Stefan that flinched in pain. Then Nathaniel was at his ear. "Think." He said softly. "Think really hard. How did the girls get to you without trouble? How did they get past Klaus to get to that box? And why else would it not work on us?"


	11. Friend of Lexie

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**Thanks, for the continued support, I'm glad those of you who reviewed like this story. **

Before Elena and Stefan could enquire more about what Nathaniel had showed them, they proposed a deal. In order to gain information, they had to earn their trust, said the old man. So, no more questions until then. For the time being, Elena needed to be home with Jeremy. She was surprised to see Bonnie there, but at the same time not so surprised.

Bonnie had decided until she could figure out what to do about Klaus, she'd focus on the ghosts that only Jeremy could see. Elena joined them in the kitchen, where Jeremy was snacking on a bag of chips. Bonnie looked tired, Elena noticed, like she had done something.

"Are you ok?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"She tried to talk to the ghosts." Jeremy tattled, getting him a dirty look from Bonnie, but he didn't mind it.

"You tried to talk to them?" Elena said not quite understanding what all that entailed.

"I did a séance."

"Tried to do a séance." Jeremy corrected.

"I can't explain it." Bonnie sighed. "It was like they wanted to talk but something was holding them back."

"Like a spell?" Elena asked.

"Yeah. Someone brought them here. Someone is doing this for a reason, and without being able to talk to them, we won't know what it is."

"If you had a second witch, do you think you could get to them?" Elena asked resting her arms on the counter.

"I don't know, maybe. They'd have to be strong." Bonnie said, then she got curious as to why Elena would be suggesting this. "Why?"

"Serena knows a witch."

"The witch that put up the spell I broke?" Bonnie said not exactly impressed, even though she had never met the person. "What makes you think they'd help?"

"If you're so sure that someone is doing this on purpose then we need to know what's going on." Said Elena. "It's just a suggestion."

"What happened over there anyway?" Jeremy chimed in curiously. They had kept him in the blue on purpose.

"Jeremy, please just don't worry about it. They're leaving soon anyway." She lied. She had no idea when they'd leave, or even _if_ they'd leave.

"Would you stop lying to me?" He said angrily. "You did it with Vicki, you – "

"I'm trying to protect you." She interjected, knowing full well how she had upset him in the past by trying to hide things from him.

"I don't need your protection."

"They're Originals, Jer." She sighed giving in. "They could be dangerous, and we don't know if that's even all of them."

"Why don't you find out?"

"My privilege to ask questions has been temporarily revoked." She said.

From his cell Klaus could hear footsteps coming. He couldn't help but chuckle thinking it was Serena returning to try to get him to talk. However, he saw a flicker as someone lit a match to light the low-hung chandelier, and then the person standing on the other side of the bars was someone he hated more than anyone else in the world…his father, or rather the man he called father.

"Niklaus." He said now seeing his son for the first time in nine hundred years. He was the first one to be killed, not surprisingly. Klaus stood. "I must say, this suits you."

"I see your beloved granddaughters did their duty well, you're breathing again."

"Yes, indeed they did."

"They'll pay for that, you know."

"Oh I doubt that."

With a sly grin he asked, "How are your favorite twins doing?"

Angrily Alexander grabbed the bars realizing Klaus knew, which meant he had something to do with it. "What did you do?"

"I was here." Klaus said in his defense. "How could I have done anything?"

"Then tell me who did." His father ordered in a low raspy voice, squeezing the bars with all his strength in anger.

Klaus got closer to the bars giving his father a threatening look. "No."

Stefan joined his brother, he found him downstairs staring into the now empty room where he and a few other people had been locked inside before. When he looked again, however, he saw that it wasn't actually empty. He noticed a figure sitting in the corner, he couldn't see his face though.

"Who's this?" Stefan asked his brother keeping his eyes on the silhouette.

"He didn't give me his name." Damon said. Stefan saw the stranger raise his head knowing they were talking about him and Stefan could see his eyes, they were red, veins protruding around them. "He just came knocking a few hours ago."

"What'd he want?"

"Sanctuary."

Stefan looked at his brother confused wondering why a vampire would want sanctuary. It was a haunting thought; someone was after him, someone obviously dangerous. "Did he say anything else?"

"He's French." Damon stated. "I couldn't understand him." With that said Damon walked away. Stefan kept staring at the vampire's eyes which were watching him in return.

As Stefan turned to walk away he heard his name. "Stefan?"

Stefan took a step back and this time when he looked at the man's eyes they were normal and green. "Do I know you?"

"We met once." He said standing up from his spot in the corner.

"So you do speak English." Stefan said, although the man's accent as perfectly clear.

He rushed to the door nearly slamming against it. "Of course I do. I only spoke French because I don't know him."

"I don't remember you." Stefan said now able to see his face.

"We have a mutual friend." He said. "Lexie."

Stefan took a moment to think, and finally it came to him. Lexie was French too, although she had moved to the states long before they met, back when France and England were fighting over it, and she never went back home. He remembered one day she came to see him with a friend hooked to her arm, more than her friend really, her maker.

"Stefan." She had called waving to him while walking gracefully as always, laughing along with her friend. He was dressed like a Frenchman, walking with a cane. "Stefan, I'd like you to meet my friend, Armand Desmarais." She said allowing her old accent back into her voice. Coming back from his reverie he decided to let Armand out. Armand followed him upstairs where they sat in the living room with Damon to talk.

"You know this man?" Damon asked Stefan.

"He was a friend of Lexie's."

"Yes, Lexie, do you know where she is?" Sadly Stefan shook his head letting him know she was gone. Armand seemed sad all of a sudden. "How?"

"I did it." Damon admitted from the couch. "Sorry."

Though, he was angry at Damon, there were more important matters at hand that needed to be addressed. "Damn." He muttered. "Lexie knew him; she might've been able to help me."

"Knew who?" Stefan asked sitting next to Damon.

"Nicholas." He said the name softly with fear.

Damon looked to Stefan curiously, wondering if he knew the name. Stefan noticed and shrugged. "Lexie never mentioned him to me."Damon rested back not really caring, but he listened anyway in case it got good.

"He's an original." Armand said. "At least a millennium old."

Damon leaned forward again, now it got interesting, but in a bad way. "That's impossible."

"Maybe he means Niklaus." Stefan said. He was hoping that's who he meant.

"No." Armand blurted looking at them like they were stupid. "Not Klaus, but his nephew."

"Nephew?" They said together in confusion. Elijah had told Elena of his family, but he never mentioned a nephew who was still around. He never mentioned any other originals other than he and Klaus.

"Yes, Nicholas, is Klaus's nephew. Don't you know anything?" He yelled angrily.

"Alright, calm down." Stefan said. "Is he after you?"

"Of course he is! Nicholas isn't very forgiving."

It wasn't much longer and Elijah came as asked, intrigued by the message that another original was in the area. "Stefan." He said as he walked into the room. "I was surprised to get your message."

"You're surprised another family member's coming to wreak havoc?" Damon asked.

Stefan stood with another vampire who he pushed in front of him. "This is Armand. He claims the vampire that's after him is an original."

"I'm not lying!" He yelled to Stefan. Damon started to think he was crazy. He turned to Elijah. "You're Elijah?"

"Who wants to know?"

"I knew your brother. I met Klaus a few centuries ago. He mentioned you, he said you were away on business, it was a shame because you were the one I was supposed to find."

Elijah suddenly became interested. "You were sent to find me?"

"By the original I served."

"Who is this man?"

"Nicholas...Nicholas Petrova."

Hearing his last name for the first time they all looked at each other in shock. "Another Petrova?" Damon groaned.

"Nicholas is from Italy." Armand explained. "The source of the Petrova, he said so himself."

"Do you know him?" Stefan asked Elijah.

Ignoring Stefan's question Elijah kept his attention on Armand. "What else do you know about this man?" Elijah asked Armand.

"Everything." Armand stated proudly. "I was with him for over 600 years, longer than anyone."

"Yet, you're running from him?" Damon asked.

"He thinks I betrayed him!" He said getting upset again. "He thinks I'm involved in something that happened to his sister."

"Sister?" Damon asked.

"Yes. Serena Petrova….You people don't know anything do you?" Even though, they knew Serena, they didn't interrupt him, he seemed far too upset. "A couple years ago she went off our radar; we always stayed close by so he could keep an eye on her. Before she disappeared, her ex showed up again." Hearing about an ex intrigued them, there was some more information about their mystery guests they didn't know anything about. "They argued as usual, got in a fight, then he left. Nicholas followed him, and he wanted me to watch Serena. I tried to follow her, but the woman is sneakier than anyone I've ever met, and I lost sight of her. When Nicholas came back we tried to track her down, but we couldn't find anything. Suddenly, I'm a suspect and on the run. Like I said, Nicholas isn't one for forgiveness, especially where his siblings are involved."

Stefan knew of Sebastian, her twin, and he hoped he was the only other sibling. "You mean Sebastian?"

Armand nodded. "Sebastian never left her side, so we figured she went to him, but we found Sebastian and he was alone."

"Alright." Damon said crossing his arms. "How many are there?" He asked, they needed to know. "How many of these second generation Originals?"

"Besides those three…Dorian son of Elise, Milena daughter of Alexander, Annemarie daughter of Marisa." Well, they knew two out of three, not bad, but they wished their wasn't a third. Then he continued and they got even more worried. "And…"

"And who?" Stefan asked.

He hesitated for a moment knowing if they found out who else fathered an original they would have cause to be nervous. "Nathaniel…son of Niklaus."

"Klaus?" Damon blurted astonished. "Klaus had a son?"

"Wait." Stefan said looking to Elijah. "Nathaniel. He's at the estate."


	12. Seven

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**And thanks again for the reviews, keep them coming, please and thank you. **

Alexander had had enough of trying to get Klaus to talk, so this time it was their mother. She came down right after her husband left. No one ever expected Klaus to kill her too, after all she was still his mother, but according to Klaus she wasn't much of one because she never stood up to her husband when he slaughtered Klaus' real father and his family. At first he had to take a second look to make sure it was really her. She no longer had the long brown hair down to her butt, instead it had been cut and was now no longer than her shoulders. Her dress was different than her daughters', those were too slim and figure fitting than she knew her husband would like. So Elena made sure to buy her something like a ball gown.

Klaus was leaning up against the wall facing her as she came to stand before the bars. She reached inside hoping he'd take her hand, but he didn't move, so drew them back. It hurt her feelings, of course, this was her son, whom she loved, but she couldn't change him. "Niklaus, l understand how long it's been." She said with a clear European accent. "But I am still your mother. I just want to know what has happened to Sebastian."

"Of course you do. He's your precious grandson." He said bitterly. He was jealous, she knew. It was no secret that she and her husband were frankly better to their grandchildren than they were to their own children. They were never abused or anything, but they had a harsher upbringing, due to their father.

"And he's your nephew." She stated. "Help me understand. You have done so much to this family, you made us suffer, yet you let Elijah live all this time, and you never harmed these children before. Why now?"

"I haven't touched them." He stated as he slid down the wall to sit.

Hoping to gain some points with him she pulled out a bag of blood from her large pocket in the skirt of her dress and hung it through the bars. Seeing it he immediately snatched it from her and tore it open. Soon it was gone, and he wanted more. She pulled out another from her other pocket, but didn't handed it to him. "To get this one, I want the truth." He gave her a threatening and angry look out of desperation and hunger. He just wanted that bag. "You may not have ever laid a single finger on those children, but you were involved. I'm no fool, Niklaus, you are involved with what has happened to them. Tell me, and I'll give you this."

He swallowed hard and settled back to sit rather than looking like he was ready to pounce at any second. "Why ask me, when they know who did it?"

"Because I want to know why."

"The night they came into my house and stole my servant from me they declared war. Unfortunately for them, they made it quite obvious as to who they were. So, before I left I made it clear that revenge must be taken."

"You did this simply because they brought that boy home?" She asked. The girls had told her the story of how they were able to save their family.

"This wasn't his home anymore. He chose to come with me, I didn't kidnap him."

"Niklaus – "

"I answered your question, mother. Now give me the blood." He warned sharply, his face transformed so his eyes were red and teeth sharp.

She gave in and tossed it through the bars, then backed away to leave knowing there was nothing more she could do. She met her husband at the top who gave her a questioning look as if to ask how it went and she shook her head. He sighed angrily and walked away to find Nathaniel.

Meanwhile, Elijah was sitting with Stefan and Damon contemplating what to do with Armand. They knew he needed sanctuary to save him from his former master, as he called him, but they weren't sure if Nicholas was going to cause trouble or not. If they handed Armand over to Nicholas rather than giving him sanctuary as he asked for maybe they could spare the town one less Original to deal with.

Elijah sat there on in the chair thinking. The way he asked about Nicholas, and the fact that Nicholas was an Original, made them want to know what Elijah knew about him.

"So, do you know who Nicholas is?" Stefan asked Elijah.

Elijah seemed to be too lost in thought to answer, or he was just ignoring the question. "Elijah." Stefan said trying to get his attention again. Elijah finally looked up. "Do you know Nicholas? Is what Armand says true?"

"Yes." Elijah stated. He took a deep breath ready to admit something that he didn't really want to admit, but he knew without it they wouldn't leave it alone. "Nicholas is my son."

"Your – your son? He's your son?" Stefan asked.

"Is that not what I just said?" Elijah asked blatantly.

"But he's Serena's brother."

"Yes."

"I thought Daniel was – "

"No." Elijah interrupted getting up from the chair. "No, Serena is mine."

"Is that why Daniel looks at you the way he does?" He asked getting Elijah's attention. "Back in the storage unit he said you have more things to atone for. He meant Serena, didn't he?"

"Yes." Elijah sighed leaving the room.

Nathaniel was upstairs again with Sebastian who was still in a coma. Alexander came up behind him placing his hands on his grandson's shoulders and looking at his wounded grandson. "Nathaniel." He said softly.

"Sir?" Nathaniel asked respectfully keeping his eyes on Sebastian.

"Do you know who did this?"

"No."

"What if I were to tell you that it wasn't your father?"

Nathaniel closed his eyes taking a deep breath to hold down his anger at being reminded of who his father was. "Then I would tell you yes." He said carefully. "If it wasn't him, then it had to be Luke."

Alexander pulled out one of the chairs to sit beside him. "Who is he?" He asked leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Of course, he wouldn't know about Luke. Truthfully, he hadn't seen any of his grandchildren since they were human. It took them two hundred years to track them down, and by that time Klaus had already killed he and his wife.

"Serena's ex-husband."

"What?" He asked angrily. When Serena was young, almost seventeen, she lived with her grandparents for a year to get away from her mother who was trying desperately to marry her off. He happily took her in seeing her as too good for any man, so he was protecting her. However, a week before she turned eighteen is when he made her go back to her mother as there was nothing more he could do. Still, he gave her mother a harsh warning that she be very careful in who she chooses for Serena. Apparently she didn't heed that warning.

"I won't tell you the whole story, I'll let Serena tell you herself when she wakes. What I will tell you, though, is that he is everything the two of you feared her mother would arrange her with. And Klaus has had him from day one."

"If that woman were alive…" Alexander rasped clenching his fists. Nathaniel knew who he was talking about.

"Your son was long gone, and then you were gone. She thought she had no choice." Said Nathaniel in his aunt's defense.

"It matters not." He said. "She didn't listen." As he stared at Sebastian, he started to think of the things he wanted to do to Luke if he ever met him.

Stefan decided to fill Elena in now, so he called her from outside the estate, where he and Damon had walked with Elijah. It was a quiet walk.

"Stefan?"

"I know the last thing you need to hear is more news."

"Stefan, just spit it out."

"Remember what you said about Elijah acting strange? You were right. Serena and Sebastian…Elena, he's their father." He heard her gasp on the other line. "And they have a brother."

"There's another one?" She managed to ask. She was still trying to process the fact that Elijah was a father. He had abandoned them, too, to make it worse. But why would he do that?

"Two, actually." He corrected. "And, um, you remember Nathaniel?"

"Yeah…" She said not understanding where this was going.

"He's Klaus's son."

"Klaus's son? Are you sure?" She panicked.

"Unfortunately." Stefan sighed.

"That would make him a hybrid." Elena muttered. Then somehow her brain clicked and she did the math realizing how many there were. "Seven and seven, that makes fourteen originals. What are we going to do with that many?"

"I don't know, other than pray they go on with their own lives."

"Oh we will." Stefan heard from the doorway. He turned to see Nathaniel standing there, then he was standing a mere inch from Stefan and snatched his cell phone. "I distinctly remember my grandfather telling you no more snooping."

"She didn't." Stefan said in her defense. "I did."

"Is it true?" Elena asked him. "Is Klaus really your father?"

"There's more than one meaning to that word, a fact many members of my family are aware of. However, the technical meaning, unfortunately, states that yes, he is indeed my father. What else do you know?"

"We know there are seven of you." Stefan said. "The five of you that are here, and two others: Dorian and Nicholas."

"How do you know this?" Nathaniel asked to both of them keeping the phone to his ear as he stared warningly at Stefan.

"A friend of Nicholas is here in Mystic Falls. He told us."

"I see." Nathaniel said than turned his attention back to Elena. "Fair warning, we'll come to you from now on when we want you to know something. Until then, mind your own business." Nathaniel hung up on her and threw Stefan his phone. "That goes for you too."

"We want you out of here." Stefan said boldly. "Get out of Mystic Falls, and we'll never think of you again."

"Are you threatening me?" Nathaniel asked lowly.

"We don't have much left." Stefan said sadly. "Klaus took it all."

"So, you're worried we'll just tear your town apart?" Nathaniel said with a grin. "Don't worry." He added with a pat on the back. "We won't harm anyone." Nathaniel walked back into the house shutting Stefan out, who called his brother.

"We've been warned." Stefan said when he heard the click on the other end.

"By who?" Damon asked from their living room.

"Nathaniel."

"What'd you tell him for?" Damon asked unhappy with Stefan's big mouth. "Stefan, what they don't know won't hurt them, but only if you don't tell them."

"Damon, I mean it. We have to tread carefully. He swears the town's in no danger, but with that many who knows how long we can keep the council from finding out."

"As long as they stay in that house they're fine. It's the ones that haven't showed up yet, that I'm worried about." Damon said looking to a frightened Armand who was sitting in front of the fireplace.


	13. Two More Makes Fourteen

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**I like reviews, so please let me know what you think. **

**Chapter 13: Two More Makes Fourteen**

Nathaniel was asleep on the floor beside Serena's bed. He'd been up all night with her praying and talking to her, he'd even sing to her from time to time. They had started taking shifts because Annemarie and Milena nearly passed out from thirst last night after staying up watching Serena and Sebastian for so long and not leaving their sides. Morning came so his shift was over and Milena found him on there on the floor. She knelt down beside him and started shaking him lightly. "Nathan." She whispered.

His head shot up quickly as he woke and he looked at her, his eyes barely open. "Milena? What time is it?"

"It's early."

"She wake up?"

"No." She answered sadly sitting down beside him as he rolled over to sit up. He sighed and she looked pulled something out of her pocket and held it up. Nathaniel cocked his head to the side staring at the necklace Milena had to get back from Tyler. She had completely forgot about it with everyone that happened to the twins. He took it from her. "We kept it for you, like you asked."

"I don't need it yet."

"Where's the other half?" She asked noticing he wasn't wearing it like he usually did.

"With Ali." He answered. Ali was his lover. She was back in New York where he'd left her. They all knew her, they knew everything about each other, just about.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat."

"Why?"

She looked to the doorway knowing their grandfather was standing just outside the door. "Nonno (grandpa) wants some time with her."

"Alright." He groaned as he made it to his feet. They walked out and together and passed him. Nathaniel stopped to look at him and surprisingly Alexander gave him a small smile and patted his shoulder. That was about as affectionate as he got, at least to the boys, the girls got more out of him.

Alexander walked into the room and sat beside his sleeping granddaughter taking her hand and kissing it. A wave of sadness came over him, and regret. "I'm so sorry sweetheart." He whispered. Elijah came to stand by the door as well and watched.

"I found him outside; he used compulsion on me to let him in." Alaric said. He had been on his way to see Damon and Stefan and had run into a man outside.

The young man standing with Alaric had short, slicked dark hair and blue eyes, like half of the family, and was tall and lean like all of them. He was dressed in a nice and expensive white suit with a light gray silk shirt underneath.

"Dorian." Armand said softly with fear. He knew where Dorian was, Nicholas wasn't far behind. Everyone travelled in pairs. Serena was always with Sebastian, the girls were always together, if not with Serena, and Dorian was always with Nicholas. Nathaniel was really the only loner, he moved between the pairs.

"I believe you have something that belongs to us." Dorian said pointing his cane at Armand. It was an interesting one, its top was silver and it looked like a bird, a phoenix maybe.

"Don't let him take me." Armand begged hiding behind the two brothers.

"Take you?" Dorian sounded surprised. "My dear Armand, I have no intentions of taking you anywhere."

Armand cocked his head to the side curiously. "You're not here to condemn me?"

"No, not at all." Dorian said. "I'm here to spare you."

"But, why?" Armand asked not understanding why Dorian of all people would want to do such a thing.

"Because you're innocent." He answered. "Are you not?"

"Well, yes." Armand stammered coming to stand in front of the brothers rather than behind them. "But how do you know?" He asked not understanding, then suddenly it made sense. That night he lost Serena, Dorian was unaccounted for. He had not gone with Nicholas, he said he would stay to help Armand, but he disappeared, then suddenly reappeared right after Nicholas returned. "Unless, you did it. You helped her escape!" He accused angrily pointing a finger at him.

Dorian grinned amused at the situation. He was happy Armand finally figured it out, he'd been waiting for some time. "Yes, I told her. She knows all about her brother's search party and that is precisely why she covered her tracks. I blackmailed you Mr. Desmarais. Me pardonner Monsieur, mais j'ai eu mes raisons. (Forgive me Sir, but I had my reasons)."

"What did he say?" Elena asked Stefan.

Stefan shrugged. "I don't speak French."

They had caught Dorian's attention and he turned to face them. "You must be Elena." He said and rushed over to stand in front of her. She jumped when he suddenly took her hand and kissed it giving her a smile, which also made her as well as Stefan and Damon uncomfortable. He noticed it and he looked at the boys. "Which makes you Stefan, and Damon. Hm, not quite what I expected."

"How do you know who we are?" Stefan asked.

"As an original it's my business to know about the doppelganger." He said, though it was a small lie. "Actually, Serena told me about you. It's how I knew here is where she would run, and she did. Of course, you already know that."

"You mean when she came here last week?"

"No, I mean when she fled here over two hundred years ago." He said. Then they remembered the newspaper article, and how she had actually been there before any founding family.

"But, there was no doppelganger in Mystic Falls. At least, not for another couple decades."

"Oh right, Katerina. How is it the doppelgangers keep ending up here?" He thought to himself quickly, then went on with the conversation. "Serena may have had a little insight into that particular instance."

"You mean she knew the future?" Elena asked.

He didn't answer, rather he just smiled, which she took as a yes.

Elijah listened to his father's apologies upon his own daughter he couldn't bring himself to talk to even though she was asleep and may or may not be able to hear him.

"Nathaniel told me about Luke. Sweetheart I – I tried to protect you from such a thing, a union with a vicious man unappreciative and undeserving of such a woman. It seems your mother didn't heed my warning when I departed from you."

"You shouldn't have had to warn her." Elijah said.

"No." Alexander agreed looking to his son. "No, I shouldn't have."

"Father, I – " He started but stopped when his father held up his hand.

Alexander leaned over kissing Serena's forehead, which was burning, her skin was hot to the touch. Then he stood facing his son. "Elijah, what did you expect from us?" Elijah's head cocked to the side curiously with his eyebrows furrowed not understanding what his father meant. "Did you expect we'd all come back and be a family like nothing ever happened?"

"Of course not, I know I was wrong, and I apologize for everything, but – "

"It's not I you need to apologize to. Mara told us what happened the night you left, and I am sorry it happened, but a man stands up for what he's done and takes the penance."

"Yes, I know."

"What did Niklaus do to make you so irrevocably devoted to him no matter what he did?"

"You know as well as I do how Niklaus looked at my wife. From the night we met her, he had his eyes glued to her, the same way he did with Katerina."

"The doppelganger."

"Yes."

"Are you saying you were protecting Mara from Niklaus by leaving with him?"

"I am."

Suddenly, Dorian's attention was gone as his head snapped upright to listen carefully.

"What?" Stefan asked.

"Nicholas." Dorian said softly with an amused expression on his face.

"How do you know?" Stefan asked.

He lifted his sleeve and showed him his arm which had tattoos of names written in Latin, like the ones they had seen on Serena. Then the door was busted open. "Armand!" Hearing his cousin, Dorian hid in the back.

"Oh god." Armand whispered in fear. He tried to run but Damon held onto him. Elena went to the door to see a tall man, who was about Damon's height, with long dark hair to his shoulders, and dark brown eyes. He was dressed in a suit too. Did everyone in that family have money to burn?

"Let me in." Nicholas said.

"That doesn't work on me." Elena said proudly holding her necklace.

"I know who you are, and I don't care. I have a traitor to deal with, so let me in." He rasped.

"You're not killing anyone." Elena said.

"Did I say I would kill him?" He asked, his tone almost playful, kind of like Klaus would. "Besides, even if I were going to, I wouldn't do it here with witnesses."

"Fine, come in."

"Smart girl." He muttered as he walked into the room where Armand was being held by Damon. "Finally ready to surrender?"

"My lord, please, I didn't do anything wrong."

"Then tell me where she is."

"I don't know."

Suddenly getting angry he ran at Armand shoving him into the wall and knocking Damon across the room. "Where is she!"

"I don't know! Please, I swear I don't know."

"Nicholas." Dorian said announcing himself as he stepped back into the room. "Let him go."

He dropped Armand who stayed there on the floor too afraid to move. "Dorian? Where have you been?"

"Armand is innocent, I blackmailed him to draw you here. Serena knew you were following her so she ran and covered her tracks."

"Why would you that?"

"She is finally away from that pompous prick you let get his hands on her. It's time she knew the truth."

"Who?" Stefan asked curiously.

"Who cares?" Damon groaned getting up from the floor.

"Where is she Dorian?"

"Oh, she's here." Said Dorian. "But, I won't take you to her."

"Who are you to judge me?"

"We all look to Serena like a little sister. We all protect her, as we protect each other. So don't you dare talk to me like that, when I have actually talked to her and held her while she cried." Dorian rasped before losing his temper and yelling, "And you were hiding!"

"Alright!" Nicholas yelled back surrendering. "What do you want from me?"

"If I tell you where she is – "

"Wait." Elena said budding in. The two looked at her like she was going to be in trouble for interrupting them. "You won't be able to get to Serena."

"Oh really?" Dorian asked. "And why's that?"

"She's in a coma." She answered sadly showing some remorse for a woman she didn't even know.

Nicholas suddenly looked faint, like his heart stopped letting no more blood into his body causing him to look white as a ghost. Dorian on the other hand looked angry, angry Nicholas as if it were his fault. "What happened?" Dorian asked keeping his eyes on Nicholas who fell to his knees on the floor.

"We don't know, it has something to do with her brother." Damon answered.

"If one twin dies…" Nicholas whispered.

"We know." Damon said bluntly.

"We have to go." Nicholas said stumbling to his feet. "I have to go."

"If you're going anywhere it's to Serena." Dorian said.

"I know that." Nicholas rasped.

"Good, so get moving."

"You realize the whole family's there?" Stefan asked.

"And we mean the whole family." Said Damon.

Dorian and Nicholas eyed each other for a moment. They didn't seem to be bothered by that fact, they were too worried about the twins. They rushed to the door leaving, but Elena chased them wanting to know more. The others wouldn't let her ask anymore questions, and these two were the only ones who weren't part of that deal. Naturally, Stefan and Damon followed her.


	14. Awake

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

**Keep reviewing, please and thank you. **

**Chapter 14: Awake**

Stefan and Damon followed them to the house and once they got there Nicholas seemed to suddenly get frightened. He went to open the door then his hand froze holding the cold knob. Dorian pushed him out of the way and flung the door open, but when he turned back around Nicholas was gone, and in the doorway stood his mother. Dorian eyed his mother, Elise, who was still wearing her slim blue dress and she knew her son immediately.

"Dorian Lucas Tierney III." She said as if she were scolding him with her hands on her hips.

"Yes maam?" He asked suddenly snapping back to attention like he were a little child again.

"Where is my kiss young man?" She asked sounding less demanding.

He smiled and walked into the doorway to hug and kiss his mother. "Hi mama."

"My baby. My one and only baby, where have you been?" She said smacking him in the arm. "You let your cousins do this all by themselves and you were off doing God knows what."

"I was busy Mama. I had to take care of a certain other cousin who just _ran away_!" He yelled into the woods knowing Nicholas would hear him.

"Which cousin? How many of you are left?"

"There are seven of us, same as you, well minus your parents."

"Which cousin?" She asked again with a little more demand.

"Oh, Nicholas."

"Elijah's Nicholas?"

"He's the only Nicholas, mama."

She stepped down onto the porch to call for her nephew. "Nicholas Elijah Nerva! Get back here little boy!"

Nicholas was hiding behind a tree not far away and when he heard his aunt scream for him he couldn't not listen so he slowly hunkered out from behind the tree and walked to the porch to face his aunt, and his father who had heard his own name so he came over only to realize she wasn't yelling at him.

"Zia." He said, which is Italian for Aunt.

"My god, look at you." She said with her mouth open in shock. "Last time I saw you you were still little." She came down to him and hugged him. Then grabbed his chin to look at his face. "My god, you look like your father."

"I know, thank you for reminding me." He said bitterly as he looked up to see Elijah. "Padre."

"Nicholas." Elijah said, he didn't know what else to say. "You look good."

"Where's Serena?"

"Oh, so you're here for your baby sister. Nevermind the rest of us."

"Elise." Elijah said wanting her to give his son a break.

"She's upstairs." She stepped out of Nicholas' way to let him by and he ran up the stairs.

Dorian walked inside with him mother who had her arm around him and Elena and the boys followed.

Bonnie and Caroline were coming up with a plan. They needed a way to communicate with those ghosts before it got too far. As it was, Jeremy wasn't sleeping and he was in a bad mood all the time. Bonnie knew she couldn't get another witch to help her with it, so her only choice was to channel like Luca had showed her. So, she had asked Damon to get something that belonged to the witch over there and bring it back to her.

"Are you sure it will work?" Caroline asked as they sat in Caroline's bedroom.

"It has to." Bonnie said. "There's no other way."

"What about when the witch realizes what you're doing?"

"He'll be too weak to do anything. This spell is too powerful, I can't do it. Emily won't let me, they think I'm abusing the power. So I need help."

"He's in a house full of Originals, you're asking for trouble."

"They can't leave that house without risking exposure. I'll be fine." Bonnie promised.

Back at the house, Stefan finally got the answer he'd been waiting for. Damon had already left, which worried Stefan, but he didn't let it show.

"So…they're all sirens?" Elena asked looking at the Originals across from her.

"Serena was the first one we noticed." Daniel said. Elena noticed that Daniel most resembled his older brother Elijah of the group. "When I heard about the massacre I got there as quickly as I could to find that some of them were gone. I got word to Alexander and we began tracking them down. It took days before I found Serena and Sebastian. I watched them for a while, and it wasn't long before Klaus's servants found them. Right when I was about to run in Serena screamed when one of them was about to stab her with the only thing that can kill us and then he fell to the ground holding his ears until he passed out."

"So you don't actually have to sing?" Elena asked.

"No, but it's better than screaming and sounding like a damsel in distress." Annemarie said. "Not to mention it attracts them - draws them into their own trap."

"Afterwards." Daniel continued. "I told the others what had happened and then kept watching her to see if it happened again. Weeks and months went by and nothing so we dismissed it, then a couple years later Nicholas contacted Alexander."

"It was late at night." Nicholas began. He had come down realizing Serena was still asleep and all he could do was wait. "Sebastian was sleeping, and Serena was swimming, she always liked swimming at night for some reason. Anyway, another set of vampires showed up and when she seen them she screamed like before, only this time they all passed out rather than just one."

"How were you able to figure it out?" Stefan asked.

"It took a while. It wasn't until we seen Nathaniel do the same thing to another vampire just by singing to himself that we made the connection. It was odd, Nathaniel didn't even turn to see the vampire behind him, he just kept singing to himself and when he got close enough he passed out like the others."

"Serena and Nathaniel figured it out before we did, I think." Annemarie added. "She didn't understand what was happening so she went to him, as he is a witch's son. He's the one that taught her that singing does the same thing."

"But where did it come from?" Stefan asked.

"That's a good question." Daniel said scratching the back of his head.

"My mother." Nathaniel said getting everyone's full attention out of curiosity. "We're not one hundred percent, but we're pretty sure she did it. I was the first born of our generation so it started with me. She knew what my father and his family were, what they had become, so it was her duty as a servant of nature to do something to weaken them. So she placed one of two spells on me, the first was binding my father's curse to me, so that should his be broken then so would mine, and second was this. Should we ever be turned into what they were, which in her mind could only happen at their own hands, then we would be able to harm them. I guess she thought using their own children against them was the perfect irony."

"But, she never told you?"Elena asked.

Nathaniel shook his head saying, "My mother was very…paranoid. Some would call it cautious, but the fact of it is she was a witch who bore a son of not only her sworn enemy as a witch, but a hybrid."

"So, what does that make you?"

Nathaniel laughed. "I'll let you know when I come up with a word for it." He said as he took a sip from his coffee cup.

"You're a witch too aren't you?" Stefan asked confused, trying to figure out what he was.

"Of course I am. I just happen to be the other two as well. As a witch it was her sworn duty to do what was done to Klaus, so she worked a spell that bound his curse to me as well, then she took the power which _she_ gave me, but before she died I took it back so that I could use it against Klaus."

"Did Klaus – does he know you exist?"

"If you're asking if he had an affair with my mother with the intention of getting her pregnant the answer is yes."

"You don't know that for sure." Elijah said. "He denied it."

"Yes, let's believe him. Look where that got you Elijah." Daniel said.

"Daniel – " Alexander started.

"No, don't defend him." Daniel blurted angrily getting up from his chair which fell backwards. "He doesn't deserve it, he hasn't for the past thousand years since he abandoned his family for that bastard!"

Elijah got up to stand toe to toe with his little brother. "He was family too."

"He was against us! He used you!" Daniel was yelling at the top of his lungs, then calmed himself down before continuing. "The funny thing is I looked up to you, until that day. Who did you think it was that came along to clean up your mess? To look after Mara and the five children you left her with. Who do you think Serena grew to call father?"

"Daniel!" Alexander III barked getting in between his brothers. "That's enough. We all know how much you care about them."

"I could kill you myself for what you did."

"I almost killed her."

"Almost, meaning you didn't. You stopped yourself. There was still a chance. She knew Elijah, she knew what we were, and still she let me in."

"What?"

"After your favorite brother slaughtered my wife and son, I moved in with Mara and the children to keep them safe." A wave of jealousy came over Elijah and he glared at his brother. "Don't look at me like that nothing happened."

"It was father's idea." Alexander III said in his youngest brother's defense. "Father was the one who told Daniel to look after them." Alexander got closer to Elijah. "Why did you stay away Elijah? I understand in the beginning, we were all confused and worried, and yes you could have killed Mara that night, but like he said, you didn't. You should have come back the moment you knew she was pregnant."

"I wanted to." Elijah said softly, regretfully. "I couldn't, I couldn't risk hurting her."

"You hurt her more by abandoning her." Daniel blurted.

"I said enough!" Alexander III yelled louder putting his finger in his brother's face.

"You loved her didn't you?" Elijah asked.

"I won't deny it like you did. I made sure she knew it, and I made sure they knew it." He said proudly pointing upstairs. "I even defended you in the letters I wrote them when I left. If this were a time before Klaus drove a dagger through my heart, I might have forgiven you, but not now."

Then Milena came to look down over the banister. "She's awake." She announced happily. Daniel immediately left to go to her, rushing up the stairs. Since he was already angry he slammed the door behind him locking everyone else out. Milena was a little startled, but she understood. So, she went to check on Sebastian. He sat down in a chair beside her taking her hand and kissing it. She opened her eyes to see him. "Papa?"

"Hey baby girl."

She snuggled up closer to him hugging his arm, he kissed her temple. "I missed you." She whispered nearly in tears again.

"I know." He sighed sadly. "I'm sorry. I should have never left you. I thought your brothers had it under control, but I was wrong."

"I love you Papa."

"And I love you." He whispered back looking down at her face. "You will always be my daughter in my eyes…my sweet girl."

Then, Elena came walking in. "Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt, I just wanted to see how you're feeling." She said to Serena.

Serena sniffled and wiped her face trying to hide that she was crying. "I'll live." Her voice was low and cracked like anyone who had just woken up or didn't feel good.

"Can I ask you something?" She turned to Daniel. "I couldn't help but notice something that seemed familiar."

"What is that?"

"The way you and Elijah eyed each other when you brought up…" She had to pause for a moment to think of her name. "Mara, is it?"

"My mother." Serena stated. "Everyone in the family knows the story, my father leaves, and my uncle here takes his place to raise us and take care of my mother because he loved us, unlike my father."

"That's just the thing." Elena disagreed. "The look in Elijah's eyes would suggest otherwise. I know the look brothers give each other when they love the same woman."

"Right." Serena chuckled slightly as she sat up against the headboard. "You mean you and Katerina, the dopplegangers the Salvatore brothers both fell in love with. Apparently your looks aren't the only thing you have in common with my mother."

"Wait, what?"

"My mother is the Petrova you and Katerina resemble."

"We're related?" Elena breathed in disbelief.

"Yes, but considering the thousand plus years in between it really doesn't matter."

Shocked and shaken, Elena came back out and started rambling as she came down the stairs to Elijah who was about to leave. "You just failed to mention that your wife was the original doppelganger."

"What?" Stefan asked.

"It was none of your business." He answered keeping his hand on the doorknob, not even turning around.

"That's why you fell in love with Katherine. That's why you wouldn't let Klaus kill us. We're family."

"Yes, that's part of it." He admitted turning around. "I knew of the doppelganger but I didn't know who she would look like, until I looked at Katerina and saw my wife."

"If that's true – " Stefan started.

"It is true." Elijah nearly barked angrily. "Mara had no siblings to continue the line."

"Then why did you put all your faith in an elixir that might not have worked."

"Because it was the only solution." He sighed. "I spent five hundred years after Katerina betrayed me thinking our line had ended. I never knew she had a daughter."

"Is that what drove you and Klaus apart?"

"Yes."


	15. Channeling

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**Sorry it took so long to put this up, I was on vacation for memorial weekend, and no internet. Plus, I had a little writer's block to work through. But, here it is, let me know what you think. **

About a day or so after Serena woke up, so did Sebastian. It was late, dark outside and it was storming. Nicholas took the shift hoping that he could be the first one his brother saw when he woke up. He got his wish, as Sebastian sat straight up breathing heavily and sweating as if he'd just woken from a nightmare. Nicholas jumped from his seat beside the bed to grab hold of his brother to calm him.

"Sebastian…Sebastian, look at me. You're alright, you're safe."

He looked to his eldest brother confused. "Nicholas?...Am I dead?"

"No." Nicholas laughed. "No, thank God, no. I didn't die Sebastian."

"You're not dead?"

"No. I came to after you and Serena had gone."

"Where's Serena?" He asked trying to get up. Hearing his sister's name reminded him of what he had been doing, or trying to do, before he got hurt and went to sleep.

Nicholas stopped him from getting off the bed. "Easy." He warned. "You've been out for a while. She's fine, she's resting, which is what you need to do. So lay back down." He slowly pushed Sebastian back down onto the bed so he was lying again, but he was still breathing pretty hard and covered in sweat. Nicholas looked at his hand which was soaked and wiped it on his jeans. "Nightmares?" He asked.

"Yes and No." Sebastian said. "Some were memories, some dreams, some nightmares, but most of it was what had happened to me."

"What did happen?"

"It was Luke." Sebastian stated staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah, we figured that much. What did he do?"

"I don't know where to begin."

"Start at the beginning."

"There's no time." Sebastian panicked getting up on his elbows. "I have to see Serena. I have to warn her."

"Sebastian, calm down, you need to rest." Nicholas said pushing him back down, but this time he wouldn't budge. "You can talk to her in the morning, alright? Just get some sleep."

"I've been sleeping for what seems like a century, please let me see her."

There was too much panic in his brother's voice for Nicholas to ignore. He nodded and helped Sebastian to his feet then led him down the hall to Serena's room where she was sleeping and being watched by their grandfather.

As the storm raged, Bonnie, Jeremy, Caroline and Damon were working on their plan. Damon handed Bonnie the handkerchief Damon had swiped from Nathaniel's pocket. It was white silk with gold embroidery, his initials in the corner. She held it and began working her spell holding Jeremy's hand with hopes that by channeling Nathaniel's power she could see the ghosts and talk to them.

At the estate, Nathaniel woke up from his bed holding his stomach as he felt his power being drained from him. But everyone else was too busy with Sebastian to notice the thud as he fell from his bed.

They were all sitting in the dining room. Sebastian had needed to eat and drink to get his strength back so one of the servants brought up some bags of blood and made him a bowl of soup.

"This man you're looking for, is your sister's husband?" Elijah asked standing opposite Sebastian with his hand on the chair for leverage.

"Was." Sebastian corrected. "Lucretius, or Luke as he later called himself. A few years after divorce became public in France, where they spent most of their time, she divorced him. Whether or not they're technically divorced I doubt, considering they were married nearly six hundred years before in Italy."

"God, the thought of some worthless vampire with his hands all over her…" Alexander rambled angrily.

"They were set to be married long before then, back before we became vampires. The week before our family was slaughtered, was Serena's sixteenth birthday, and every noble man or man of wealth was invited in hopes of finding a match. The party had already gone for hours by the time he came in. Apparently, he came from an old wealthy Roman family and he had just moved back to Italy from France. By then mother had already narrowed it down to a few suitors and gave Serena the choice of the three, she turned them all down. Apparently he had seen her do so, and had watched her for a while, then walked over to our mother and offered her a very large sum of money to marry Serena. Mind you he hadn't even met her yet, nor talked to her, just watched her and immediately he had wanted her. Mother nearly fainted at hearing the amount of money he was offering, but she was no fool, she wouldn't agree without proof that he could actually pay that much. The next day he came to our door with chests full of money and gold and was set to marry her in the next week. It was actually the day before the wedding when it happened."

"She never loved him did she?" Stefan asked chiming in for the first time. He was sitting in the chair next to where Elijah was standing.

"Hardly, she never even liked the man. You have to understand Serena, granted it's not that simple, but she was always a good judge of character. From the first time she met him she never trusted him, she said it was everything about him that didn't seem right, especially the amount of money he seemed to have. She couldn't believe anyone having that much out of a mere inheritance, she always suspected he was mixed up in something illegal, and she was right. She begged me for days to be on her side and speak to mother about it, but I couldn't break our mother's heart like that. She wanted us all married off as quickly as possible. You see all the money our father had left us was gone, even our grandfathers had stopped lending us money because we could never pay it back. Then comes this man who promises all the money we could ever dream of, he promised all five of us would be taken care of, even though the elder three had already been married, he promised should they ever need it he'd lend them all the money they needed. He promised to take care of mother and myself since I wasn't married, he said we could even live with them, he didn't mind. For mother it seemed too good to be true and she just couldn't refuse an offer like that. Frankly, neither could I, no matter how many times my sister begged and begged me to believe her that something wasn't right about the man. She knew from the beginning he didn't want her because he loved her, he wanted her for all the wrong reasons. See, Mona had her beauty to attract men, Serena on the other hand had her charm, her wit, and her quick mouth. Not to say our eldest sister wasn't charming, she was, but she was also very shy, she barely spoke about her true feelings to anyone but Serena. They were always very close, and Mona was always a good judge of character too. Serena was the exact opposite, she would let no man act as if he were better than her. She was always very intelligent so when men began to talk about politics and such she could never stop herself from budding in to prove she knew just as much as they did. They always liked her because she was different, she was a challenge, her beauty was just a plus unlike Mona where really that's all she had going for her. She was the perfect woman for those days, beautiful and willing to do what she had to be a good wife. Yet, she was the lucky one who actually loved the man she married."

"Then why did Serena marry him?" Elijah asked his son.

"Because I made her." He answered regretfully. "When he came along…again, I couldn't deny what had been promised him by our mother. Serena hated me for it, but I never imagined it would cause her so much trouble. He took advantage of her, beat her when she didn't do as she was told, which was always, raped her if he had to, finally after the first hundred years she gave up the fight, which I thought would never happen. She's the kind of person who would fight to the death if they had to, so seeing her surrender to him was a shock, I thought he'd have to kill her before she would do that. Perhaps, she did it for me, knowing he would kill her and then I would be alone. No matter how much she hates me for all the times I've betrayed her, we're all we have, and she won't risk that."

"How else have you betrayed her?" Elijah asked curiously.

"Nearly two hundred years ago, she fell in love with another. Serena always loved getting men's attention knowing how it irritated Luke. She would even flirt with other men in front of him just to get back at him. This time, however, was different, she was so in love with him it made me worry, and when Luke found out it made him sick and angry, angrier than I'd ever seen any man in my entire life. He knew of the affair but he could never find him…until I told him."

"That was your betrayal?" Elijah knew the look in his son's eyes, he'd seen it in the mirror. The guilt from betraying someone close to you, that kind of guilt didn't just go away, and it tore you apart.

"Yes, Luke killed him. Luke challenged him to a duel, the winner would have the right to Serena, and Luke won. When Serena came later that night and found her lover lying there on the floor in a puddle of blood she…" He paused showing the pain from his guilt. "I'd never seen anyone cry like that. I thought I was doing what was best for her, but I was wrong. It was shortly after that she divorced and left him."

"What was so different about this affair that you had the man killed?" Elijah asked. Nicholas looked away staring at his baby sister knowing the story and what his brother had foolishly done. It pained him too because he was too late to stop it. He knew, probably more than anyone, how much Serena had loved him and how much he had loved her. He failed her in not saving his life from that monster.

"Because he was a werewolf."

Elijah's eyes widened in disbelief that his own daughter would make the same mistake his mother had made. He looked to his father whose fists clenched on his knees in anger. And his mother who was swept up with empathy knowing how her granddaughter felt losing such a lover, as she had.

"She kept it a secret from me as long as possible." Sebastian added. "But when I heard rumors from other vampires who frankly worked for me that my sister was fraternizing with a werewolf all I could think about was grandmother." He said looking at her, she was in tears with her hand over her mouth trying to hide from her husband.

"You knew about that?" Elijah asked.

"The whole family knew after it was revealed, and grandfather didn't exactly hide what he had done. I wanted to spare my sister that kind of pain, but I misjudged Luke and instead I brought on her what I had tried to protect her from. To this day, she hasn't forgiven me, and I haven't asked for her forgiveness, I don't deserve it."

Upstairs Nathaniel drug himself from his bedroom on the floor to the banister. He couldn't bring himself to yell for help, so he broke off one of the wooden poles and threw it on the floor knowing they'd hear it. Everyone in the dining room looked up and Alexander III went out to see what it was. He found the piece of the banister on the floor and bent to pick it up then looked up to see Nathaniel's arm hanging through the hole it'd left. He rushed up the stairs to his nephew. "Nathaniel." He flipped him over onto his back. "Nathaniel, what – "

Nathaniel took his uncle's hand and placed it on his heart, which was beating a mile a minute. He ripped his shirt open and the mark, the mark of his mother and therefore the witch line he was affiliated to was glowing. All witches in the old days had a mark like that, but over the centuries the tradition died as witches needed to be hidden. The marks made them too easy to spot. Alexander knew from seeing the mark that it was a witch who was doing this to him. He ran downstairs to Niklaus's cell banging himself against it getting his brother's attention.

"What are you doing? What sort of game are you playing?"

"Dear brother, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do not lie to me, little brother. What are you doing to your son?"

"Nathaniel? I didn't know he was here. I thought he was dead." It was clear he had hoped he was dead and so was disappointed to hear that Nathaniel was actually in the same house. Klaus wasn't really a fatherly kind of man.

The girls helped Nathaniel back into his bed, while Stefan left having an idea of what was wrong with him. As Stefan opened to door to leave, he found a man standing there. Sebastian ushered him in letting Stefan by, and took him into the dining room. Meanwhile, Serena came walking into the dining room, she was still weak and had to lean against the wall for support, but she knew that voice. "Dominique."

The guest turned round on his feet to see her. "My lady." He bowed his head.

Daniel got up and went to her worried about at her as usual. "What are you doing?"

"I'm fine, it's not like I'm dying for Christ's sake." She told her uncle waving him off, then turned to her former servant. "Why are you here?"

"To find you, my lady." He said sincerely.

"Call me my lady again, and I swear I'll hit you." She threatened and her family somehow found it funny as they chuckled. "He's not my husband anymore Dominique, remember?"

"Right, sorry."

"So if you're here for him, leave before I do hit you or worse."

"He doesn't even know I'm here." He said in his defense. "I came on my own accord."

"I find that hard to believe." Serena said lowly raising an eyebrow in question. Dominique had been a servant of theirs for over five hundred years or so, and like Nathaniel was a witch turned vampire. He was very useful to Luke, and loyal.

"I swear it." He said holding his hand to his heart as if making an oath. "I'm on your side, I came to help you. I know where he is."

"Alright, let me make one thing clear." She said walking forward a little further with a finger in the air. "If I trust you and you betray me – "

"I know." He said quickly. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"Oh, so you're here out of fear, not loyalty."

"I don't want to be on the losing side, no, but I am loyal Serena." He said getting closer to her which worried Daniel, but she raised a hand to stop her uncle from stepping in. "I have always served you as well as I serve him."

"Fine, where is he?"

"Salem."

That shocked her a little bit. "What the hell is he doing there?"

"Recruiting, I think."

She nodded understanding. "Thank you Dominique, I'm sure you can show yourself out." She turned to leave.

"Serena." He called stopping her and she turned back around at the doorway. "There's one more thing."

"Of course there is." She sighed impatiently.

"When he realizes I've helped you -

"Are you asking me for sanctuary?"

"Yes."

"Prove to me I can trust you, then we'll talk." She turned around and went back to bed.

"Serena." Elijah said moving to stand in front of her surprising everyone. "Tell me about Luke."

"Why?" She asked.

"Elijah, it's a little late to make amends." Daniel said.

"No, it's not. Daniel, I thank you for taking care of my family in my absence, but now I think it's time I take over."

"Oh, so now you want to be a father?" Serena said snootily.

"Serena, he's always been your father." Alexander II said. "So listen to him."

"No, there is more to being a father than the literal meaning." She argued with her grandfather, then turned back to Elijah. "I never knew you, I had no memories, I didn't even know what you looked like. Daniel raised me, he taught me, he took care of me, more importantly, he loved me. He is my father, not you."

"Serena, that's enough."

"I am done taking orders damn it. I'm done being the woman everyone wants me to be. I don't have to listen to you. You've been gone far too long to understand. The world has changed, I have changed. I'm not that scared little girl anymore, I fear no one."

"I see that." Alexander II sighed resting back in his chair. "Granted, I'm not fond of your tone, I understand it. You're right, we have been gone a long time, too long to try to understand what you've been through."

"Good." She stated happily that he was seeing things her way.

"But." He added with a finger in the air making her lose her confident and victorious expression. "You are still my granddaughter, nothing is going to change that whether you like it or not…And you." He said looking to his son. "You have a lot to atone for."

"I know." Elijah said softly.

"I don't think you do. I don't mean to us for your siding with Niklaus all those centuries. That didn't disappoint me nearly as much as it did the day I realized Mara was pregnant after you had left her."

"You think I don't regret that decision? I've regretted it every day since, but I couldn't risk it."

"Were you really afraid for her or for yourself?"

"Both." Elijah admitted.

"What am I going to do with you?" His father sighed. "I would ask Serena what she wants, but I already know the answer. It wouldn't bother her the least if I let them leave and not have anything to do with you. However, Nicholas would disagree."

"He'd get over it." Serena said.

"He's had a thousand years to do so, yet he hasn't, so I disagree with you sweetheart. Nicholas is the only one left who has a memory of you, and he's hoping and praying you live up to that memory. So all I ask is that you do. They need you more than you might think, and we all know you need them." Serena stormed back upstairs and into the room slamming the door shut. "Does she seem familiar?" Alexander asked his son.

"What do you mean?" Elijah asked curiously.

"That one – " He said pointing his finger towards the door. "Has nothing from her mother in her, she is all you. Looking after her was like raising you all over again. So what does that tell you about how she's acting?"

"It's a cover." Elijah stated. All his years with Klaus he wore a mask to be who Klaus wanted him to be, which was a man with no emotions. He had done it all his life, though, even with his own wife.

"Exactly. She refuses to be weak so she'll be angry to avoid getting upset." Alexander said getting up from his chair. He went to his son placing his hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "She doesn't hate you." He added. "She just doesn't understand."


	16. Nicholas

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries**

**Chapter 16: Nicholas**

**Chapters might start getting a little longer as we come closer to the end. I want to get this out in 22 chapters just as they would with an actual season. Hope you enjoy!**

Now that both of his siblings were awake Nicholas knew it was time that he made his presence known to them, however he would only do it one at a time. He couldn't face them both at once, it would be chaotic. They were be too angry after thinking he was dead for a thousand years only to find out the opposite. Serena was away with the Salvatore brothers to take care of what they had done to Nathaniel. Sebastian stayed behind so he would be the first to find out. He walked into his brother's room knocking on the door to get his attention.

Sebastian looked over and thinking he was seeing a ghost dropped his book to the floor. "Nicholas?"

"Apparently." Nicholas said walking into the room. He could see the question in his brother's eyes so he answered it for him. "Unlike a werewolf who must be the murderer in order to awaken their curse, we must be the murdered."

"You've been alive all this time?"

"Before you yell at me little brother, yes I was alive and yes I knew you were as well, and no I didn't tell you because you didn't need me." He rambled.

"Didn't need you?" Sebastian asked. "You're our brother."

"You did quite well on your own I think." Nicholas said sitting in Nathaniel's chair.

Sebastian was speechless for a moment as he turned to sit on the edge of the bed facing his brother. "You let her marry Luke." He blurted. He didn't know why that was what came out first, but there it was. Probably, because Luke was what was on everyone's mind at the moment. "When you believed as she did. Why didn't you stop her?"

"Because you had to find out the truth for yourself, if she couldn't persuade you, the one you believed over anyone, then what chance did I have?"

"You didn't even try."

"Enough, Sebastian, you're the one who couldn't see the man for what he was, do not blame me for you ignorance!" Sebastian sank into his seat in surrender and Nicholas straightened himself in his seat again. Elijah came in hearing the yelling wondering what was going on. Nicholas was already upset and turned his anger on his father, who he had wanted to lash out at for a very long time."Well, here is the man I've spent countless years searching for."

"You have?" Sebastian asked curiously. Elijah was somewhat surprised, but not entirely. Klaus had told him once that someone was looking for him, but he never said who.

"Of course, Sebastian. Unlike you I knew him, I knew who I was looking for, you never knew what he looked like. I must say, you've not changed." He told Elijah.

"You have, last I saw you, you were only six years old."

"Surprised you remember."

"It's hard to forget, I was 17 when I married your mother and it was two years later that you born."

"Yes, I had just turned six actually when you left us, Mona was seven, Leo to be three, and then they who were not even born yet…So how old were you when you changed? 25?"

Elijah nodded.

"And our mother nearly 23 with three mouths to feed including her own and two more on the way."

"I already explained to them – " Elijah began gesturing out the door, meaning he had already explained to his siblings and parents.

"Well, explain it to me! They didn't know you! I am the only one with a memory of a father, and I have to admit, you don't live up to him."

"Maybe I should go." Sebastian said.

"No, you stay. Now, I'm guessing the way you attacked mother, biting her in the neck, was why you left."

"It is."

"How noble of you." Nicholas mocked. "You were always one for nobility and honor, but where is the honor in abandoning your family?"

"I'm sick of that question. Had I stayed I could have killed you myself, all of you, do you not understand that?"

"Do you not understand the pain we went through? Your wife was burned alive. My wife, my pregnant wife, was beaten and raped in front of me then stabbed through her belly like an animal. Then they ran me through. Next thing I know, I wake up beside Illiena in a ditch, with our house burned to the ground. I ran back home to see mother's ashes scattered across the winds and two open graves. These two had run off before I could get to them. That was the day I realized what you were and why you left, but that doesn't make it right. Niklaus, I understand, he had no family, and he was always one for himself, oh yes, I know all about our dear uncle too. I've been around in the past thousand years. He was the one who dragged you away from us wasn't he?"

"You sit there and judge me, yet you made the same mistake. All these years you let them believe you were dead. Why did you not reveal yourself to them?"

"As I said, he needed to learn the truth for himself. He was always too trusting, unlike Serena. I taught her to trust no one before they've earned it…Where is Serena anyway?"

"She's back at the house with the Salvatore brothers discussing business." Sebastian answered.

"Well, good. We'll need their cooperation to deal with your son-in-law." Nicholas said.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Elijah asked curiously.

"Why didn't he?" Nicholas barked pointing to Sebastian. "Why didn't Serena? God knows she wanted to. I didn't because, as I said, he needed to know the truth." He turned to look at Sebastian saying, "You're so dense sometimes."

Sebastian sprang up from the bed angrily. "And you always think you're so perfect. I wonder where you inherited that from." Sebastian said eyeing his father.

Nicholas grabbed Sebastian by the shirt. "I'm done arguing with you, you understand me. I may not have been around the last thousand years but I am still your brother, and you will do as you're told."

"You really think you can just show up after all this time and expect us to fall back in line like good little soldiers? We're not children anymore."

"Then stop acting like one…Grow up, and act like a man." Nicholas rasped harshly releasing his brother then turned to leave. "I'll meet you there."

Sebastian huffed straightening his shirt. "She's going to kill him." He muttered.

"Why?" Elijah asked curiously as he stood elegantly from his seat.

"No matter how close she and I once were, she was closer to Nicholas than any one of us, even more so than Mona."

Serena stood there staring at Bonnie angrily who held the handkerchief in her hand, the proof of what she had done. Serena tried to remain as calm as possible. "What exactly did you think you were doing?" She asked Bonnie.

"It's not entirely her fault – " Damon started.

"I asked her!" Serena barked at Damon angrily. They all jumped in fear of her.

"I just wanted to talk to them." Bonnie answered quietly.

"Who?"

"The ghosts."

"You did all this just to communicate with a couple ghosts? You expect me to believe that?"

"It's the truth." Jeremy said. "Ever since Klaus left I've had ghosts haunting me, but only I could see them, until now."

"Why not just ask Nathaniel for the help? Why cheat and steal? It's dishonorable."

"What is it with you people and honor?" Damon blurted bluntly. Serena didn't like it, but she listened. "You think you're so perfect because of your age, but you're no better than the rest of us."

"Understand something Damon, Nathaniel is more powerful than you can possibly imagine, your little stunt should have killed you."

"It almost did." Jeremy said looking to Bonnie. Bonnie still had the blood stain on her lip to prove it. She had blacked out just as the ghosts appeared to them. They were unable to get information from them.

"Did you talk to them?" Serena asked impatiently. The sooner she got to the bottom of this the sooner she could go back to Nathaniel and contemplate their punishment. In their mind what Bonnie had done was betrayal.

"No."

Serena sighed disappointedly. That meant they would try to find another way to try again, however the only way was with Nathaniel's help, and he was no longer in a helping mood.

"I know your family has a lot going on, but this is important." Bonnie said. "If there were another way I wouldn't have done what I did, I swear. But, I needed a strong witch and he was the only one available. I'll take all the blame, it was my idea, but please help us first."

"Give me on good reason."

"What if it's related to your family?" Bonnie asked which intrigued Serena and peaked her interest. She waved her hand allowing Bonnie to continue with her little theory. "It can't be a coincidence that they appeared just after Klaus broke the spell and left with Stefan. Then only a few days later you show up."

"And what if you're wrong?" Serena asked.

"What if I'm not?"

Serena paced the room for a minute thinking. Then took out her cell phone and texted Nathaniel an order rather than a request. 'Help them first.'

Elijah and Sebastian returned to the Salvatore house to find Serena talking to Stefan. She turned hearing them come in.

"Serena, I need to talk to you." Sebastian said.

"Well." She sighed walking past him. "I've had enough of talking for a while."

"Serena – "

"Arresto." She barked, meaning stop in Italian. She walked into the other room to wait for Nathaniel.

"I give up." Sebastian sighed turning around to walk back outside. Stefan was curious but he remained on the couch watching Elijah, who was now following his daughter. He didn't knock, instead he let himself into the room to see her staring out the window. She didn't turn, she knew who it was.

"He makes me so angry sometimes." She muttered.

"Family has a way of doing that, yet they remain family. It's unchangeable." He understood more than anyone probably. He couldn't count the times he had wished they had no relation to Klaus so he could be rid of him.

"I know." She turned to face him curiously. "Why are you here?"

"It's a long story."

"No, why are you _here_?"

He leaned up against the wall. "I'm curious."

"Seems to be a family trait." She joked turning around to face him with her arms over her chest. "I never understood them, traits I mean. When I was little and I finally got up the courage to ask the question of my...you" She corrected herself. "She wouldn't speak of it. I asked her once more when I was older, after I was promised to Luke, and she gave me this." She pulled her necklace out from under her shirt.

"I remember that necklace." Elijah said walking to her. He held it in his hand looking at it. "Her own mother gave it to her before…" He couldn't bring himself to say, it was a gift the day they were wed.

"She told me it was to remind me that everyone has two sides, a good side, a bad side, a past and a future, and we should accept both in someone we love. It was then that I got the courage to ask again. She told me she remembered every day from the day she met you to the day you disappeared, and there wasn't one until that last day that she saw a mystery in your eyes, something she'd never seen before. There were no secrets, she said, there was no need for them. So yes, she had accepted the two sides of you like this medallion, because without either you would not be the same. That was the first I'd ever heard her speak of you."

"What else did she tell you?"

"The same as Mona and Nicholas, that I inherited more than your looks. She said the older I got the more she saw you when she looked at me, and perhaps that was what made speaking of you so difficult. Not because of what you had done, that was in the past, but through the five of us you were always there."

She could see the effect it had on him, the guilt that he'd kept buried for a thousand years. "I want you to know, I have regretted that day every moment from then to now."

"I know, I can see it."

Before they got deeper into feelings, he switched gears to get her back on track with the conversation. "You were saying?"

It took a second then her eyes lit up."Oh." She said. "What I don't understand is a child can inherit looks, but how does one inherit personality? It's environment and the upbringing that influences a person. How could I be like the one parent I'd never met?"

"That's a good question." He admitted with a smirk. "Perhaps, I have the answer. Sebastian tells me you were closest to Nicholas."

Hearing the name of her eldest brother whom she loved hurt, but yet it made her smile to hear it again. "I was. From the day I was born mama said he refused to leave me. With the three before us, then the pair of us together, she had her hands full, but she could always count on him to take care of me. I guess you could say, he took over where you had left. He taught me everything."

"And that is the answer."

"I don't understand."

"He taught you, as I had taught him."

She smiled now understanding.

"There is some of your mother in you, you know. You may look like me, and think like me, but that smile there, has her in it."

"You think so?"

He nodded.

Before Nathaniel could go he had to confront his father. He knew Klaus knew what was going on, so he waited outside his cell, waited for Klaus to recognize him. Slowly Klaus turned his head to eye the young man on the other side of the bars under the flickering candles. He smirked immediately knowing who he was just by the color of his hair and eyes. There was no mistaking whose son he was.

"Do you know who I am?" Nathaniel asked.

"How could I not?" Klaus said.

"Good, then tell me what Luke is doing."

Klaus came forward out of the shadow of the back of the cell. "You think just because you're my son I'm going to tell you whatever you want to know?"

"I do." He stated confidently. "Because you know what I am, you planned it that way."

"Is that what she told you?" Klaus asked referring to the boy's mother. The witch who had fallen in love with him even though it was against her very nature.

"She didn't have to." Nathaniel said. Nathaniel held out his hand sticking it between the bars and clenched his fist. Klaus grabbed his neck suddenly unable to breath and fell to his knees. "You were wise to stay away from me." Nathaniel added. "You know you're not invincible. You created the one thing that could kill you, and here I am. Now tell me what I want to know!" He yelled.

Just as Sebastian did, Serena became enflamed when she realized how her brother had led her to believe he was dead.

"Why would you lie to me?" Serena yelled.

"I have never lied to you a day in your life."

"Keeping secrets is lying, Nicholas."

"I never announced myself in order to keep you safe."

"Oh, so this was for my benefit? Not your own?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"How did you keep me safe? Luke still got to me! I was used and abused for eight hundred fucking years and you did nothing!"

"Neither did you! You could've killed him yourself to be free of him! I shouldn't have to save your ass every time you're in trouble!"

"Oh, so this was you teaching me a lesson? Huh? Am I some helpless child to you?"

"Serena, if you knew I was around, Luke would have known, and then I would have never been able to stay by you. He would have taken you away from me."

"Then you should have killed him!"

"Why does it have to be me? Why couldn't you have done it?"

"Because it would have been obvious. Do you know how many connections he has? He slaughtered our family, Nicholas. He killed everyone we had left, and he killed many more throughout the centuries. Killing him would have only brought our family more pain. So I couldn't you stupid, arrogant, asshole!" Hearing her say that caught them all off guard and their eyes went big. Elijah was surprised to hear such a thing come out of his own daughter's mouth, but he didn't blame her.

"Serena, I'm sorry, I – "

"You're not forgiven." She stated wiping the tears from her face. "You let me live all this time thinking you were dead. The one person I could always count on and yet here you are and you let me down. What happened to honor? What happened to keeping your word? You swore to both of us that if he so much as laid a harsh finger on me you'd kill him."

"I know. I'm sorry, I am, I am so sorry."

"Next time get your facts straight." She finished then walked out the back door.

"Ooh, she told you." Damon said.

Nicholas looked annoyed but controlled, much like Elijah, Elena thought. "How old are you? A couple centuries maybe. Yet you're taunting someone who is a millennium old. Not wise…I should probably go find Serena before she does something stupid." Nicholas got up and left. "Armand!"

"Coming."

They left together.

When Elijah left he came across Serena a little ways away from the house. She was alone, and seemed upset. He couldn't resist walking over to see the daughter he never knew again. She didn't even acknowledge he was there, just started talking.

"I've spent every minute of every day for the past thousand years asking myself the same questions, but there is one that tears me apart more than anything…Why didn't anyone stop him?" He sat down beside her on the bench listening as she went on.

"Father mentioned how he had tried to protect you from such a man." Elijah said as he sat beside her.

She nodded. "When I was sixteen I ran away from home to avoid mother's incessant plot to marry us all off as we had no more money, and he and nonna (grandmother) took me in for a year. It was a week before my birthday that they told me I had to go home, and they made Alexander escort me to make sure I didn't run. I wanted Daniel to do it, he was always more sympathetic, which nonno (grandfather) knew hence sending Alexander." He kept listening. "Then came my birthday party where momma met Luke, and accepted his offer. Then the night before we were to be wed he had us all slaughtered like animals."

"Your mother?"

She covered her mouth trying to keep in the cry and to regain her voice. "She went first. He sent priests after her, claiming she had consorted with a devil creating us. She told us to hide and run to Nicholas when we got the chance and Sebastian charged at them so I could get away, but they caught me. Then they tied us up…we watched her burn, heard her cry until she was gone. But the fire didn't burn us, we barely even felt the heat. So they cut us down and ran us through…Next thing I know I wake up and the house is burned to the ground, and Sebastian is just waking up too. We ran to Nicholas but it was too late. I saw him and he was dead lying next to Illiena and their little boy…he was only three. Mona got away though, they fled Italy and moved to Bulgaria."

"Katerina was from Bulgaria." He muttered.

"I know." She sniffled. "At least the rest of us got to live out their lives, they had to leave home to do it, but they got to raise families and grow old like normal people."

"How?"

"We don't know why we're so different from you. We've had plenty of theories throughout the centuries. Somehow, for our generation the gene was suppressed and the only way to awaken it was an unnatural death."

"Murder."

"Yeah...When Luke figured out that killing us was actually…not killing us, he stopped hunting us down."


	17. Ghosts

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**Thank you for the reviews, they mean a lot, I'm just so happy that ppl enjoy reading this. ;) So keep em comin…And I fixed the anonymous review setting, so I can accept them now. **

**Chapter 17: Ghosts**

After Serena's lecture Bonnie decided to talk to Nathaniel in person to discuss the matter and see if he would help. She was surprised though when he agreed, but what surprised her more was his stipulation.

"Alright, here's the deal." Nathaniel said. "I will help you communicate with these friends of yours. However, by help I do not mean with you."

"Then what do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

"If I do this, I do it alone."

"What?" Bonnie stood quickly from Elena's couch angrily. "You expect me to sit back and do nothing?"

"Uhuh." He agreed. "You're not strong enough; you'll only get in my way."

"Not strong enough? I could have killed Klaus if they would have let me."

"But you would've died. All your power is channeled, given to you by your dead ancestors. My power, on the other hand, is honed from over a thousand years of practice. I win."

"I'm not standing down. I have to do this."

"Then do it yourself." He said, adding "and um, try not to get yourself killed." He turned towards the door. Elena looked at Bonnie begging her not to let him walk away. If Bonnie tried on her own it would kill her, the spell was too strong. Not to mention Emily already thought she was abusing the power, so she had to walk softly.

"Alright." Bonnie groaned giving in.

Nathaniel smiled from the door getting his way always made him happy, and he came back into the room. "So we have a deal?"

"I won't interfere." Bonnie agreed, though it sucked for her to stand in the sidelines. She'd been the one studying the ghosts with Jeremy the whole time and now she couldn't do anything.

"I'll come back at sundown, we'll precede with the ritual then. I would think by then you'd have everything we need."

"Sure." Bonnie sighed with a fake smile on her face trying to be polite and sincere.

Nathaniel nodded and left.

Serena was with her brothers arguing over what to do with Luke, because they knew he could come there from Salem any day soon, so they had to have a plan. As Nicholas was the oldest and felt guilty for allowing the marriage to happen in the first place he thought it would be his job to dispose of him.

"If anyone is killing that son of a bitch, it'll be me." Nicholas told his sister as they sat in her room. She was lying on her bed with her back up against the headboard and Sebastian sat on the edge beside her.

"And I said no." Serena argued. "No, no, no. You may be my brother, but you kind of forfeited that right by hiding from us. I am the one who had to put up with him for all this time, I know what he's done more than anyone so I will be the one to decide what's going to happen."

"Serena, you haven't stood up to him in eight hundred years, why would you now?"

"I had a reason to not stand up to him. All I have to do is make a few phone calls and make some arrangements then I can do whatever I want to the bastard."

"Alright, what aren't you telling me? What do I not know?"

"Apparently a lot of things." Sebastian muttered.

"I mean it, Sebastian. You two are hiding something. What reason did you have to stay by him?"

"You really think I'm going to tell you everything, every little secret just because you're my brother? That right has to be earned, isn't that what you taught me?"

"Fine, don't tell me; just do what you got to do."

"Oh, I plan on it." She said as Nicholas left the room. Sebastian though, wasn't as confident. She could see that something was weighing on his mind, she could see the wheels turning. "What's wrong?"

"He deserves to know." Sebastian said with his head hanging down as he stared at the floor.

"He's the one who said he had our back even though we couldn't see him. Well, apparently not, if he never noticed."

"It's his family too." Sebastian blurted looking up to her. "He deserves to know. I'm tired of keeping secrets."

She sat up and scooted closer to her brother so he would lower his voice. She didn't want to be overheard and be asked a bunch of questions. "Secrets keep us alive, Sebastian. If the wrong person knew any one of them our lives could be ruined."

"I know, but it's Nicholas. I'm mad at him too, but he's here now and he's still our brother."

"He'll find out soon enough." Serena promised, which was all she was going to promise. She didn't like keeping secrets all the time either, but they had too many enemies who could ruin everything. They had too much to risk to take chances.

Stefan came by later on to check on Elena and Bonnie hoping that Nathaniel hadn't lost his temper or done anything to upset them. He had wanted to be there to make sure, but Serena wouldn't let him. She said it had to be between them, Elena was even lucky she was present since she wasn't involved in what Bonnie did.

"You ok?" He asked coming into the kitchen where she was doing dishes. Bonnie was upstairs with Jeremy talking. She didn't have anything to do so she cleaned.

"Yeah, he didn't do anything. He really didn't even seem mad."

"What'd he say?"

"That he doesn't want Bonnie involved. He'll do the spell so we can talk to them, but he'll do it without Bonnie."

"Is he really that powerful?" Jeremy asked surprising them as he walked into the room.

"He's an original Jeremy, with that kind of age who knows how powerful of a witch he could be."

"He's the one who put up the barrier on the house and Bonnie was able to break it." Elena pointed out. "That doesn't really make him look that strong."

"Yeah, but look at what it did to her." Stefan reminded her, Bonnie was barely able to pull it off before she passed out. It was luck, really. He doubted she'd be able to do it again.

"What did happen over there?" Jeremy asked. Elena still hadn't told him anything claiming she was protecting him from the Originals. She knew they were the type of people who didn't want everybody knowing certain things, so she figured it'd be best if Jeremy knew nothing.

"Don't worry about it." Elena told him, so he just went back upstairs angry that Elena was still keeping secrets.

"When is Nathaniel doing this?" Stefan asked.

"Tonight."

"Are you planning on being there?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Why?"

"I just want to know where you're going to be."

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked curiously and worried at the same time.

"Just staying at the estate while some of the others go to Salem."

"Salem?"

"Yeah, that's where Luke is apparently. They want to find out what he's up to before he gets here."

"Oh. How many of them are leaving?"

"Don't know yet."

"What about Damon?"

"He'll be home."

Everyone had their job to do now. Even Caroline, who was keeping her mom and the council on the wrong track, Tyler was too with his own mom.

Nathaniel returned to the house to see Serena standing in front of the door waiting. She didn't say anything, just stood there waiting for him to ask the obvious question. "What?"

"Did you not hear the part about our arch enemy being in Salem?"

"Serena, don't play games."

"I'm not playing any kind of game, Nathan." She said following him upstairs. "I just want to know why you haven't done anything about it."

"What do you expect me to do? Go find the bastard?"

"Uh, no. I don't mean do something about him, I mean do something with those who are in Salem."

As if the light bulb came on inside his brain he turned around to look at her with his eyes wide open, then rushed into his room to make a phone call. Serena, having said what needed to be said, walked away and ran into her grandfather on the stairs.

"Yes Nonno?"

"Who's in Salem?" She tried to say something, but before she could contradict herself he added, "I heard you, little lady. So don't you dare deny it."

"Don't worry about it Nonno." She said pushing past him.

"You have witches?"

"We know a lot of them." She said as she walked past him down the stairs.

Alexander kept going and went to Nathaniel's room. Nathaniel was packing a bag, it looked like he was packing things he'd need for a spell. "What'd your father tell you?" He asked leaning up against the wall.

"Not a damn thing."

"Don't lie to me boy."

Angrily Nathaniel looked over his shoulder to say, "I'm not your boy." Then he swung the bag over his shoulder to leave.

Alexander stopped him on his way out the door grabbing him by the arm. "You listen to me, and you listen good. Niklaus may not be my son, but I did raise him as my own as I did you."

Nathaniel laughed to himself. "You may have acknowledged yourself as my grandfather, but you wanted nothing to do with me. I was a sin in your eyes just like my father, hell maybe even worse than he because of my mother."

"Your mother is the witch who cursed your father, why would I be angry at her?"

"Because she loved him once and bore me. She was a witch and your enemy, as I am." He said knowing Alexander couldn't deny it, and it was proven by the fact that he hung his head. That was the only sign he ever gave of being wrong, he wasn't much of a talking man, he was quiet most of the time. "I'm just another reminder of how your wife disgraced you." He finished pushing his way out the door. Alexander was angry for hearing such a thing but he didn't stop him. Deep down he knew it was true and Nathaniel had every right to say such things.

As Nathaniel was ready to walk out the door, Milena met him holding the moonstone and the necklace. "Do you need these?"

"Not for this."

"Well, then, you mind telling me just what you do need them for?"

"The end." He answered and left leaving her there looking worried. She knew how the story went, they all did. Nathaniel was the only one who could defeat his father, but there was a catch as always when it came to witches' spells. Nathaniel was tied to Niklaus in every way, much like the twins.

Back at their house, Stefan and Damon were discussing the situation while Stefan packed for his trip with Dorian and Nicholas. Nicholas was downstairs by himself, planning, he had said. Dorian was waiting for Stefan, telling him what he needed.

"I still don't think this is a good idea." Damon said.

"Damon, if this man is as bad as Serena says he is, then we cannot let him get to Mystic Falls. Their family has been good at staying hidden, he won't."

"What I don't understand is why you're all still here." Damon said to Dorian. "The Originals are awake, you have Klaus, so leave."

"I will tell you this." Dorian said. "There is only one place in which Klaus can be killed, and there is only one person who can kill him. Nathaniel must kill him on the field where Klaus broke the curse."

"That's why they were there." Damon muttered. Stefan was confused. "Milena, that's where she took Caroline. And those things Tyler stole, that's where he got them from. They were buried there with the bodies."

"So, Nathaniel has to do another ritual?" Stefan asked. "With the moonstone? But it was destroyed."

"Think of the moonstone as half of a whole. The moonstone which Klaus used to break the curse and the one which Milena now possesses are two halves of the same stone. Nathaniel's mother, who created the curse took the stone and broke it into two. One half held Klaus's curse, which was broken therefore the stone was destroyed. The other half, on the other hand, is untainted. Nathaniel must use that to kill Klaus." Dorian replied twirling his cane out of boredom as he leaned against the doorway. "Then both halves will be gone."

"Klaus's own lover betrayed him?"

"Klaus doesn't know the meaning of love. Josephina loved Niklaus with all she had and after he knew she was pregnant he left as his duty in the relationship was done. He saw her as nothing more than a breeder." Dorian explained.

"Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned." Stefan said.

"Exactly." Dorian agreed.

Damon remembered something else about the field. "And there was a pyre, like a funeral pyre." Damon said, he remembered Tyler laying on it nearly dying.

"To burn Klaus's dead body so he can never be resurrected." Dorian answered. "Hurry, we're running out of time. Not only does it have to happen in that place again, but it has to be on a full moon as well. So unless we wish to wait another month, which we don't, we have only four days."

"It feels like it's been longer than a month since Klaus broke the curse." Stefan muttered zipping up his duffle bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

"Indeed it does." Dorian agrees. "Come."

Stefan followed Dorian downstairs where they met up with Nicholas who was waiting by the door. As they came down he opened the door for them and after Stefan had gone by he grabbed Dorian by the arm. "Remember what I said. When we get to Salem you keep going, and you find him."

"He's not hard to find, Nicholas, he's practically in a cage, he can't go anywhere."

"No matter, you get him."

"I know."

"It's my only chance of Serena ever forgiving me." He muttered as he closed the door behind him, leaving Damon curious.

Nathaniel met them at Elena's house as promised to perform the ritual to talk to the ghosts. And as Bonnie promised, she stayed out of the way leaving the whole living room to Nathaniel. They moved around some of the furniture to give him more room so he could stand in the middle with the altar of candles around him. Bonnie would have need her book in front of her to do something this intricate, but Nathaniel did it all by memory. He even spoke the Latin words perfectly, but he was old, he was taught Latin as a child, and spoke it fluently.

However, Nathaniel didn't stick to the plan Bonnie had in mind. As soon as the ghosts showed up, they walked around Nathaniel heading towards Jeremy who backed away in fear. However, once they reached the doorway they could go no further, like a barrier was around the room. Nathaniel turned around to face them and snapped his fingers to get their attention so they turned looking angry that he had boxed them in. He wiggled his finger telling them to come to him, which they did. Quickly, he grabbed their throats to expose the back of their necks to the others. "See that?" He said. "Binding magic, someone has turned them into slaves." He explained. Then suddenly, as he held them they caught fire and burned away screaming until they were gone.

"Why did you do that?" Bonnie asked angrily rushing into the room feeling the barrier dissipate like a gust of wind blew it down as well as blow out the candles. "You didn't talk to them, you destroyed them."

"I already know the answers you seek."

"Oh really?" Bonnie asked folding her arms over her chest. "Enlighten us, then."

"It's not your concern anymore. It's family business." He answered, then headed for the door.

"That's not good enough." Bonnie barked. "They were our friends when they were alive, they meant something to us. Why were they enslaved?"

"Ghosts make good spies. They can't be seen."

"Then why could I see them?"

"One, because they were attached to you more so than anyone. And two, because you were once dead." Nathaniel answered.


	18. Lucretius

**Chapter 18: Lucretius**

**Thanks to those who reviewed, I appreciate it. **

Nathaniel returned from Elena's house and went straight downstairs to confront his father. He just wanted to be able to tell him how his plan was falling apart as his noble servant failed. Klaus knew it was his son coming, he could sense him. He stood up against the bars with a smirk on his face. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I really thought it was you controlling them." Nathaniel said. "I was sure of it, but it's not."

"As I said." He replied confidently as always.

"That's why he's in Salem, isn't it? He needed a witch who was close by, but far enough away to not be known. All so he could use a couple of ghosts as spies in case Serena came into town."

"Sounds right." Klaus agreed.

"But, you're still the one who told him where to look." Nathaniel said accusing his father of the obvious. Mystic Falls had been the place where Serena had run to get away from Luke, he never knew where she went…until Klaus told him. Klaus kept silent, he didn't admit anything. "It doesn't matter." Nathaniel continued. "He's still going to die for everything he put Serena through. I'll make sure of it. Then once we get rid of your pet, I'll get rid of you." Nathaniel said with a cocky grin on his face and Klaus chuckled.

"You really believe you can win?"

"It's not faith, it's fact. I will kill you, but before I do, there's something I want you to know. Your master plan, and your blood dies with you. I am the last of your like, those who followed were nothing but witches, the werewolf inside is extinct."

Flashback

When Nathaniel was eighteen and set to marry, his mother chose a witch. The day he met his wife, Illaria, he first thought she was of a werewolf bloodline. Then his mother pulled him aside to tell him what had to be done. At first she was dead against him getting married at all, but he wanted it, so she gave in as she always did when it came to her only child.

"Is she a werewolf?" He asked his mother.

"No, son." She answered. "She's a witch, like myself. She's a good match for you, she's a strong witch." Josephina was a beautiful woman. She was tall and thin, but curvy, with long black hair and tan skin.

"I do not care about how strong she is, or her family."

"I do." Josephina pressed. "Nathaniel, you are a hybrid, by law I was supposed to kill you at birth, but that I could not do. This is my penance."

"I do not understand."

"I cannot allow more hybrids to be born. Your father and you can be the only two of your like, no more. The only way to make sure of that is through breeding. I chose her for you because her bloodline is pure and strong, it will help to cleanse your children of your father's tainted blood. I was supposed to bear the child of a warlock, our line was meant to be of witches, so I will make it so by matching you with her."

"Mother – "

"Nathaniel, do not argue with me. It is done; this is how it has to be."

End of Flashback

Elijah was unsure about going into Salem, considering it was home to many witch families, but he had to know what was going on between his daughter and her ex husband. Since no one would tell him, he had to see the man for himself. Part of him hoped that his daughter was exaggerating in how horrible he was, because he didn't want to believe that his wife could be so blind out of desperation. He followed Sebastian, and Stefan into the fanciest restaurant in town, which is where he would be for dinner, according to Sebastian. Dorian had left as he promised Nicholas he would after dropping them all off, and Nicholas went around back.

The three of them sat at a booth in the corner where they could see everybody. Sebastian and Stefan were the only two who ordered anything, they just sipped on coffee while they waited. Stefan's phone rang soon after, and it was Damon.

"Please tell me you haven't killed anyone." Stefan said answering the phone.

"No." Damon said as if it were stupid of Stefan to assume such a thing. "I just thought you might want an update on the ghost situation."

"Elena told me they were gone."

"Yeah, but I know something Elena doesn't. Rick's here and he looked up the symbol Elena said was on their arms."

"What is it?"

Damon handed the phone to Alaric since he could explain it better than Damon could. "It's like a family crest, like how they used to seal letters in wax."

"Ok, then whose is it?" He corrected himself.

"That's the thing, we don't know. We thought it'd be Klaus, but I found the Nerva family crest and that wasn't it."

"But Klaus's father was a werewolf, what about that family?"

"I'd need a name."

Stefan turned to Elijah. "What was Klaus's father's family name?"

"Nero." Sebastian answered knowing Elijah wouldn't. Elijah looked at him somewhat angrily that he was giving out information that was not his to give.

"Alright, I'll look, and get back with you." Alaric said.

"What if it isn't Klaus?" Sebastian suggested. "While you're at it check Flavius, that's Luke's last name."

Alaric agreed to look at both of them and hung up. With more homework to do he sat there in Damon's living room with Damon on his laptop with a mound of books and documents to look at.

Soon after Luke came walking in. "That's him." Sebastian said eyeballing him the second he came within sight.

"I know him." Elijah said surprised. "He was loyal to Klaus for quite some time." He remembered meeting Luke, but he never knew his real name was Lucretius, Klaus only ever called him Luke.

"Yes, he was the one who introduced Klaus to Serena."

"Klaus knew her?"

"Vaguely, but enough to know he was our uncle, a fact he made known to us."

"He never mentioned you to me. Had I known – " It made Elijah wonder what other secrets Klaus knew that he kept from Elijah, especially regarding their family. He was thankful at least that Klaus never harmed them, until now anyway.

"What would you have done?" Sebastian asked bluntly.

"Had I known you were still alive, I would've found you."

"I doubt that." Sebastian said turning away to look at Luke again, who was coming up to him with a false grin pretending to be a friend.

"Sebastian." Luke said standing in front of him. "It's been quite some time." Luke was tall, taller than any of them, and very skinny. His short blonde hair was neatly trimmed and flat. He even had a thin face with prominent cheekbones. He looked very Roman, Elijah thought. His entire demeanor reminded Elijah of them, and their arrogance. He wore a black silk suit, his silk shirt was black with small silver stripes under a silvery gray jacket with black lining and matching pants. Even his shoes were Italian leather.

"Yes, it has." Sebastian agreed, though less enthusiastically. This was the last man on the face of the planet Sebastian wanted to be talking to, but he had no choice.

Not wasting any time Luke asked what he came over to ask. "Where is she?"

"What makes you think I know?"

"You rarely leave her side out of your desperate attempt to protect her, and I doubt she has left yours since leaving mine, so I will ask once more, and once more only, where is Serena?"

"Why?"

"Just answer the question." Luke said getting impatient quickly and it showed as his friendly manner and false smirk faded.

"Not until you answer mine."

"I asked you first." He pressed.

"Lucretius, she is my sister, and she is no longer your wife, so I do believe my question is the one that will be answered as I have more right to her."

Luke chuckled in a way that reminded Elijah of Klaus, that same arrogant sense of invincibility. "See, that's what your brother said."

"Excuse me?"

Luke sighed as if he were annoyed at having to explain himself. "You and your family moved so much out of fear of the religious because of your mother, so how is it that they found you? And the day before I was set to marry your sister, I might add."

"You son of a bitch, we already know it was you who had us murdered under Klaus's orders." Sebastian rasped.

"They were never supposed to harm Serena, though." He said reminiscing back on when it happened. "An unfortunate event for which their punishment was death." He grinned showing the pleasure he had taken in killing them.

"Although." Sebastian said. "Why did you have my _entire_ family slaughtered?"

"Well, at first it was only going to be your mother, after all she was the one making the demands." At hearing about his wife, Elijah became angry. "As you well know, I like my money and I prefer to keep it in my own hands, I didn't like that she was asking so much."

"You offered it." Sebastian stated.

"Because I knew it was my way to get what I wanted, your sister. No other suitor could ever outbid me, it was my only option."

"And Nicholas, and his wife?"

"Oh right. Well, your brother was far more protective of Serena than I had foreseen. He didn't trust me as it turns out, thanks to Serena who told him about the mysteriously overly wealthy man to whom she was promised. Apparently, he agreed with her, unlike you."

"So you had him killed?"

"Actually, I killed him myself."

"But, you overlooked one thing." A mysterious voice said from behind him. Luke turned around to see a man who looked very much like Sebastian, though taller and with shorter hair. Nicholas quickly stabbed him in the chest with a silver dagger dipped in white oak ash, weakening him, and he fell. However, since they were in a public place they had to be discreet so Nicholas caught him to keep people from getting suspicious, they'd believe he merely fainted.

"Now what do we do with him?" Sebastian asked.

"We interrogate him; find out what he's planning." Nicholas answered. They carried him outside making sure no one got close enough to see the wound. If anyone was suspicious they acted like he had fainted and it was no big deal, then took him to the other car and stuffed him in the trunk.

When Luke came to, he was inside what looked like a basement. Concrete floor and walls, with no lights, just the sun that came in from the window behind him. He noticed he was sitting directly in the light and luckily was still wearing his Lapis Lazuli ring, but knowing his brother-in-law he might end up losing it as an interrogation strategy. His ring was much like Stefan's, large and round, with a crest in the middle – his family crest. And just as he predicted, Sebastian took the ring from his right ring finger and Luke immediately started burning in various parts of his body, specifically his back. He groaned in pain trying to look strong and remain silent.

"Here." Sebastian said handing it to Stefan. "Call your friend and describe that to him, in case he hasn't found it yet." He was referring to the crest Alaric was supposed to look up. Sebastian had a funny feeling he wouldn't find it, Luke was good at hiding things and covering his tracks.

Stefan got on his cell and called Alaric who was at the school catching up on work. "Stefan?"

"Yeah, were you able to find Luke's family crest?"

"No, not yet. In fact, I haven't been able to find anything on the Flavius family."

"Well, we found Luke and I have his ring. I'll send you a picture of it, maybe that'll help." Stefan quickly took the picture of the ring and sent it.

"Got it." Alaric said as he looked at it. It then they hung up and Alaric went to work on his computer.

Stefan handed the ring back to Sebastian, who put it back on Luke's finger before he burned up too bad.

Alaric knew he couldn't find anything on Luke alone, so he went to the one person who would know everything about him, Serena. Alaric knocked on the door and was a little intimidated when Alexander II opened it. "You must be Alaric Sultzman, Isobel's husband." Alexander said, apparently he had been caught up on the family.

"Ex-husband." Alaric corrected. "Sorry to intrude, but can I talk to Serena? It's important."

"How important?" Alexander asked, he was head of the family so he would be the one to determine what was important enough to be discussed, and what they had the right to know.

"It's about Luke."

"Let him in." Serena said from behind her grandfather. "This isn't just about us anymore, Nonno." She told Alexander. "Luke has interfered with their lives now as well."

Alexander stepped aside to let Alaric in. "Thank you." Alaric said to Serena. "I won't take much of your time, I promise."

"Follow me." She said surprising him, and he followed her to the basement where he had once tried to break in. He felt foolish, but now was starting to wonder again if perhaps their original suspicions about her hiding secrets was true. When they reached the bottom, Alaric looked over to see the chambers of beds and the secret door that led to the tunnel. What he didn't know was that tunnel had forks in it, three different paths. The basement was actually three different chambers. There was the bed chamber, the cells where Klaus was being held, and the secret library. Serena walked over to the large cooler full of blood up against the wall, she reached behind it and Alaric heard a click, then Serena pushed it aside revealing a hidden staircase. "Come." She said. He followed her down the dark stairs, he couldn't see a thing. But once they got to the bottom Serena lit a match lighting some more candle chandeliers and Alaric stopped dead in his tracks. What he saw was shelves upon shelves of scrolls and documents, ancient paintings, and books – a library every historian dreamed of. She walked over to one of the glass cases and pulled out a very large book that had been sitting upright. Alaric sat down at the desk and she set in front of him. "Everything you want to know is in here. I trust you know what information is safe to spread, and what you must keep to yourself."

"I promise." Alaric whispered still in awe as he opened the book to see that it more like folder full of documents that weren't attached to each other. Serena left him to do what he needed to do.

Luke was still healing from his burns as he glared at Sebastian and Nicholas. "Nerva." Luke groaned. "You know, we were supposed to be allies, but you just had to put me down. As if you're better than me. You should be my servant."

"Oh please." Nicholas spat. "Rome's dead, Lucretius, get over it. We're in the new world now, and it has a new order. You can't win." He said slowly to let it sink in.

"Where is she?"

"You know where she is. That's why you're here, isn't it? To recruit a witch to control those ghosts for you."

Stefan popped his head up. "It was you?" He asked pointing to Luke.

Luke just chuckled evilly. "You're right. I knew where she ran to."

"Then why are you still here? Huh?" Nicholas asked. "What's the end game?"

"Like I'd tell you."

"We'll see about that." Nicholas said and took the ring off again. Stefan was dismissed, apparently he was afraid Luke would divulge certain information they didn't want Stefan to hear.

Alaric later called back, excited as he could be. As a historian what he just found was amazing. In fact he did find the crest, it took him a while, but he found it. He had been looking in the wrong places, when the answer was right in front of him. Stefan answered the phone as he waited upstairs in the abandoned house. "What'd you find?"

"You're not going to believe this, I don't even know where to start."

"What?"

"How much do you know about Rome?"

Stefan wasn't quite sure how to answer that. He knew quite a bit, but whether or not it was enough to say he knew what Rick knew he wasn't sure. "I don't know, why?"

"Where to begin." Alaric muttered to himself. "Have you ever heard of the Flavian Dynasy?"

"Wait, what?"

"The Flavian Dynasty ruled Rome from 69-96 AD. I knew about the Flavians but I never would've thought that he could actually be part of that family, until the crests matched."

"Are you talking about Luke? Are you saying he's some heir to an ancient dynasty? "

"Yeah."

"That explains his arrogance, and how he's so rich. Wait, how did you find this?"

"Oh, I uh – I had a little help. I'm in Serena's library."

"Oh." Was all Stefan could think to say.

"Yeah, I found some other interesting facts about our new enemy. Apparently, he's murdered more than just Serena's family. All that money he bragged about to buy Serena he got from his family, but he only inherited it because they all mysteriously died. There's no more mention of the family after that, it was as if it was extinct."

"So he murdered his own family for the inheritance?"

"That's what it looks like. His great-grandfather was Titus Flavius Clemens, who was the second cousin to the last emperor of the family, Domitian, and his grandfather was Titus' second son of the same name who Domitian called Vespasian. Luke's full name is Lucretius Flavius Vespasian II, named after his father, who is Vespasian's third son."

"Oh good god." Stefan whispered in disbelief.

"Oh, there's more." Rick said. "The man who succeeded Domitian Flavius as emperor was Marcus Cocceius Nerva, Alexander I's younger brother, and therefore Elijah's great-uncle." When Stefan was too speechless to say anything Alaric kept going. "Nerva was a loyalist to the Flavians, and apparently that's why Luke chose Serena, because she was a Nerva. He didn't just wander back into Italy, he came there looking for her and Klaus must've pointed him in the right direction."

"That's why Luke was so loyal to Klaus, he was obligated because of their family histories."

"Yeah."

"Oh my god." Stefan muttered.

"That's what I'm thinking. I never thought in a million years I'd ever find something like this."

"Thanks, Rick." Stefan said and then hung up.


	19. Legacy

**I do not own the Vampire Diaries…just majority of the family, **

**Chapter 19: Legacy**

**Thanks so much for the reviews so far, let's keep them coming, they really help, and only three chapters left…**

Even though Alaric was curious, he knew it was wrong to snoop any further so he stepped away from the book and returned upstairs. When he came into the hallway from the basement he saw Milena leaning up against the wall as if she was waiting for him. "Find everything you needed?" She asked.

"I think so." He said carefully, he wasn't sure what she might do. After all she was the one who almost killed Caroline and Damon when they first came there.

"Good." She said kicking herself off the wall and turning to face him. "I just have to make sure you didn't steal anything."

"Why would I steal from you?"

"Please, you're a history teacher, so to you what you just saw was a gold mine."

"Good point." He admitted. "But I swear I didn't take anything. I'm not that stupid."

"I sure hope not, for your sake."

Alaric raised his hands allowing her to check his pockets and his coat to find nothing, just as he said. She seemed somewhat disappointed, as if she had hoped he did just to give her a reason to hurt him. He figured she must be bored, cooped up in the house all the time.

"Go." She urged, and he quickly made his way to the door.

Sebastian and Nicholas came upstairs to meet Stefan who was just sitting on an old couch in the middle of a room. The house was covered in dust, it hadn't been used in years, and most of the stuff had white blankets over it. Except they didn't come upstairs just to see Stefan, there was someone outside. "Stay here." Nicholas told him while he and his brother went to the doors. Nicholas stood at the front, while Sebastian went to the back door. They knew it had to be witches, perhaps the one or ones who were working for Luke.

Nicholas slowly opened the door to peek outside and satisfied no one was there, he crept out slowly holding his silver dagger, which none of them ever let go of it seemed. Nicholas didn't wander far, he stayed on the porch, as did Sebastian. When the wind suddenly blew, causing the leaves on the ground to rise and fly in circles, like a small tornado, Sebastian grinned knowing a witch was a nearby. He watched the leaves and when they settled there was a woman standing there. She was white, with short black hair like a boy, and was dressed like one too with a white flannel shirt, light jeans, and white cowboy boots. She looked to be about eighteen, so he hoped she wasn't too strong and he could at least get a hold of her before she dropped him.

Nicholas walked to the side of the porch keeping his eyes on the door, so he was walking backwards. However, he nearly backed into the person he was looking for. He stopped, grinning as he knew who was behind him.

"Put the dagger away." The man told him.

Nicholas did as he was told and held up his hands like he was surrendering. He decided he'd find out who the quicker draw was. Then as he turned he quickly punched the warlock in the face just hard enough to knock him out cold, rather than killing him. Apparently he was quicker. As he knelt down to pick the warlock up, another girl snuck through the door.

She came into the house and found Stefan standing there staring back at her. She had longer black hair, barely, it was just above her shoulders, and she dressed nicer wearing a white skirt and blouse, but she was barefoot. She took advantage of Stefan's hesitation and dropped him as Bonnie had causing his head to feel like it was going to explode. Then she made her way downstairs.

Meanwhile, Dorian was on his way back in his car, which was a silver 1936 Mercedes Benz 500K, and he had two people with him.

"Why do you drive this?" Asked the one in the back who had short dirty blond hair and blue eyes. "Don't you think it's a little conspicuous?"

"You wouldn't understand Noah." Dorian answered. Then he looked to the man beside him, who had longer black hair, long enough to cover his face, and was dressed like he was in the 1800s. He was a quiet one, he never did talk much to Dorian or Nicholas, or anyone really.

"Why exactly do you need me?" Noah asked.

"This is Salem, Noah, you could be handy."

"Oh, I see I'm your witch shield."

"Exactly." Dorian admitted.

Stefan got up to see Nicholas dropping the warlock onto the couch where Stefan had been sitting.

"What happened?" Nicholas asked.

"A witch, she went downstairs."

Nicholas rushed down to see her and Elijah standing toe to toe. "Hey." Nicholas said loudly to get her attention. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What's it look like?" She asked.

"Looks like a poor attempt of a rescue." He smirked.

"Guess again." Luke said from Behind Nicholas and did to him what Nicholas did to the warlock and punched him as Nicholas turned around. The witch was standing there merely to keep Elijah from going anywhere. Now that Luke was free the two of them left, and Elijah rushed to his son.

"Damn it, that son of a bitch." Nicholas groaned rolling onto his stomach. He rubbed his jaw in pain.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. We got to get to Serena before he does." He slowly made it to his feet with Elijah's help and then they made their way up the stairs to see Stefan lying on the floor again. He had gotten thrown up against the wall, proven by the giant hole. They ran outside to see Dorian just pulling in up next to Nicholas' car, which was a Maserati. "Don't even bother getting out of the car, he's gone." Nicholas told his cousin. Dorian didn't say anything just quickly put the car in reverse and sped out of the driveway on his way back to Mystic Falls. Nicholas was right behind him with his father, brother, and Stefan.

Elena and Damon were with Caroline and Bonnie at the Grill to catch up on how things were going on her end.

"I don't think my mom knows anything." Caroline said. "She quit asking me who attacked me."

"Well, they've done good by not leaving the house." Elena said.

"Where's Stefan?" Caroline asked curiously.

"In Salem with Elijah and a few others. Long story." Elena said, and Caroline didn't ask anymore.

Bonnie was busy looking around, she could feel something wasn't quite right, she just didn't know what. "Guys." She said getting their attention.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"There's someone here." Bonnie said.

Then suddenly Nathaniel popped up in front of them scaring them. "You should leave, now." He pressed. "But not you." He told Bonnie. "You can stay and help me. And you two – " He looked back up to Damon and Caroline. "Do not let her out of your sight."

"What's going on?" Elena asked worried.

"Luke's coming." He said.

Bonnie stayed there with Nathaniel while the other three left, they were on their way to Elena's house. "That wasn't you sensed."

"No." Nathaniel agreed. Once he saw that they got out safe then he took Bonnie outside. They had to lead whoever it was away from the crowd. It worked, Nathaniel soon noticed the two men following them who were dressed in all white, a sure sign they worked for Luke.

Damon, Caroline and Elena made it back to Elena's house. Damon went in first with Elena close behind him, and Caroline right behind her. Elena went to shut the door but realized Caroline wasn't right behind her anymore. When she turned around she saw Caroline being help by a man, a vampire, and he had his hand over her mouth and he was holding a wooden stake.

"Damon." She said out of fear.

Damon, though was busy staring at the warlock who was already in the house. Elena turned around to see what was wrong with Damon and she saw the warlock dressed in white, who was holding Jeremy. Then she turned back to the vampire holding Caroline.

"Let me in." The vampire said.

Nathaniel and Bonnie made it to a secluded alley where there was no one around, and faced the two warlocks who were following them.

"Well, well, well." One of them said. "Nathaniel, how good to see you again."

"Hello, Lucius." Nathaniel said with a false smirk, showing they weren't exactly friends. "Caleb." He said to the other one, who just nodded.

"And who's this?" Lucius asked looking to Bonnie. "She's fresh." Insulted, Bonnie flung her hand out trying to use her power against him, but he blocked it. "Ooh, she's feisty too. I like that."

"Your fight is with me Lucius." Nathaniel said stepping forward. Bonnie knew that meant she had to fight Caleb, who was younger, probably twenty or so, where Lucius looked to be in his forties. Nathaniel closed his eyes taking a deep breath to clear his mind and then Bonnie saw that his hands burst into flames. Lucius grinned as the fight was underway.

A couple hours later, Stefan arrived back at Elena's house to see the door was still open. He walked inside and found Damon sitting on the couch pouting and drinking.

"Damon? What happened?" He asked. "Where's Elena?"

"She's gone."

"What?"

"They took her."

Luckily, they all made it back to the estate before Luke did, but not by long. Soon after, Luke bust down the door and stood there in the doorway, since he didn't have an invitation to come in. Elijah stood there eyeing him.

"Ah, Elijah, good to see you again, so soon."

"Get out." Elijah warned.

"I want my wife, and I'm not leaving without her."

"No." Elijah said sternly.

"Serena." He said loudly knowing she could hear him. She was just on the other side of the doorway in the living room with Daniel and her brothers. "If you're wise, which I know you are, you'll come out and face me. You have my word I won't harm you, I just want to talk." He said calmly. She thought about going out to him but Daniel held her tighter not letting her go. "Serena!" He yelled getting impatient. Not wanting to anger him she pushed herself away from Daniel and came to stand behind her father to face Luke, who smiled. "Love, tell me, what was our deal when we wed?"

Knowing what he meant she immediately became extremely worried. There was one stipulation for her to agree to marry him, and it was a serious one. "That you help me protect my family." She muttered.

Then Luke reached behind him to grab a rope and pulled it once hard. Through the door came a young man whose hands were bound and Luke took hold of him holding a dagger to his throat. He was about Stefan's size, with short brown hair much like Elijah's and he had brown eyes. He looked disheveled as well considering his jeans were dirty and ripped, and his white shirt wasn't white anymore from dirt and blood. "Well, since you left me, and our marriage has gone to shit, so has that deal, don't you think."

"Aaron!" She called trying to run to him to help him but, Sebastian and Nicholas held her back.

"I'm fine." Aaron promised.

"So, here's my proposal." Luke said from still outside the door. "Come back with me, or watch what's left of your precious sister's legacy bleed to death." He pressed the dagger harder against Aaron's neck making him squirm.

"No!" She cried, nearly falling into tears. "Please, don't harm him. I'll go with you."

"Serena – " Nicholas rasped grabbing her arm tighter.

"I won't let Aaron die because of me."

"Serena, don't worry about me." Aaron said looking up at the banister where Nathaniel stood, but what Luke didn't see was the young man crouched behind him holding a bow and arrow. The arrow was silver and it glistened from the light as it poked out from between the posts.

"I'm sorry." Serena said softly as she cried looking to her brothers. Luke removed the dagger from Aaron's throat and held out his hand for Serena, which she took. Aaron backed away and looked up to the banister to watch as an arrow shot nearly hitting Serena to land in Luke's chest. Luke fell to the ground and Serena grabbed Aaron hugging him so Luke couldn't take him from her. She quickly took the rope off his hands, while Nicholas and Sebastian picked Luke up. They couldn't kill him yet, so they escorted him downstairs to put him in the cell with his beloved master.

"There are two?" Elijah asked his daughter. He had only known about Elena as far as their descendents went.

"Yes." Serena looking to Aaron who waved with a smirk. "There have always been two to ensure the bloodline was safe, should one of them die, like Katerina. But, luckily she had a daughter beforehand."

"You've been protecting our bloodline this whole time?"

"That was why I never stood up to Luke, and it's why Nathaniel never did. If he died those loyal to him had strict orders to find and kill what was left of our family."

"And who is this?" Elijah asked as the boy with the bow came down the stairs with Nathaniel.

"Noah." He said introducing himself shaking Elijah's hand. "Nathaniel's descendent, and therefore Klaus's unfortunately. But, don't worry I'm not a werewolf, just a witch, or warlock." Aaron rolled his eyes and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Sorry." Noah added rubbing his shoulder. "I talk a lot when I'm nervous."

"Are there two of you as well?" Elijah asked.

"Me and my cousin, Elijah. Um, no offense, but who are you?"

Serena and Sebastian couldn't help but laugh, neither could Nathaniel.

"Noah, this is my father." Sebastian said.

"Oh." Noah said feeling like an idiot putting his head to his forehead. "You're Elijah, the first Elijah. I'm sorry. Our family has a thing with biblical names, and yours just happens to be a family name already, so it gets used a lot, like Nathaniel, or Nathan, and Nicholas."

"Ok, I think he gets it." Aaron said grabbing Noah. "Come on, we should probably be getting home."

"Hold it." Serena said grabbing Aaron and turning him back around. "It's late, you can wait. I'll call your parents and tell them you're with us, alright?"

"Aunt Serena, really, you're busy." Aaron said.

"Aaron, you know better than to argue with me. Come on." She ushered them back in and Nathaniel closed the door. She led them into the dining room.

"Oh yay, more people." Noah said, who was nervous around a crowd, at least a crowd of vampires he'd never met, even though they were family. Serena just sat them down somewhere and had a servant bring out some food for them. They just looked at her.

"Don't tell me you're not hungry."

"Well, no, it's not that." Aaron said.

"What?"

"It's just, what about Eli?" Noah asked referring to his cousin. Elijah, or Eli, as they called him, was an orphan. His parents had died when he was a baby. Eli was born in Italy, where Nathaniel had been born, just south of what is now Potenza on the Gulf of Taranto. Eli's mother, Maria, was Nathaniel's blood, and sister to Nathan (Noah's father), and knew Nathaniel well and had always wanted to go to the country where their family came from. She even married an Italian warlock named Gabriel. The only problem was that certain territory where Nathaniel grew up was much like Mystic Falls, except instead of being one town it was more like ten which were full of werewolves and vampires and witches trying to cohabitate with humans. They each had their own section of the territory, but when one of the newer werewolf packs found out about the vampires in the region they started a war. The witches, of course, wanted to stop it for the sake of the humans and also for the sake of secrecy, but in the end it only got many of them killed, like Eli's parents. Nathaniel ended up having to clean up the mess and end the battle himself by killing the remaining vampires who were threatening the humans and banishing the werewolf pack. Then Nathaniel took Eli in and raised him as his own, which isn't the first time he, or Serena for that matter, has had to do so.

"Well, where is he?" Nathaniel asked.

"At home, but – "

"But what?"

"What if they get him?"

"Alright, go -." Nathaniel said and Noah was already out of his seat running upstairs to get his phone from Nathaniel's room where he'd left it. "Call him." He finished.

"Out of curiosity." Aaron said looking to Serena. "My…whatever she is, lives here doesn't she?" He asked. Everyone looked confused as to whom he could be talking about but Serena, Sebastian and Nathaniel knew he meant the other member of their bloodline, Elena.

"Yes." Serena answered.

"Can I meet her?"

"Ok." Noah said coming back into the room holding his phone to his ear. "He wants to know what you want him to do."

Nathaniel took the phone from him and left the room, considering it rude to talk on the phone in front of company. Noah sat back down with Aaron and started eating his soup.

"What do you think we should do?" Serena asked her brother. "The more people we bring into this town the more likely to cause problems. So far, we've been lucky to not alert the council, but Luke may have by coming here."

"I know a way we can find out." Elijah offered.

"Really, and how's that?" Serena asked.

"Talk to them."

"Come again?"

"According to the Salvatores there is a party tomorrow night." Elijah explained. "If we go, we can find out what they know."

"We're strangers, they won't tell us anything."

"You are, I'm not." He corrected. "Trust me, Serena. Come with me tomorrow night, just the two of us. Anymore might raise suspicion."

"He has a point." Sebastian said, surprising everyone that he was actually siding with his father. "It's not a bad idea."

"Alright, I'll go." She sighed not sounding particularly excited about it, but she really didn't have much of a choice. They really needed to know what the Founder's Council knew, or thought they knew. Hopefully, Caroline and Tyler had done well in deceiving their mothers.


	20. Love Letter

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**Chapter 20: Love Letter**

**We're getting closer to the end, so let me know what you think. Please and thank you. **

At the Salvatore house Elijah and Serena were getting ready for the dinner party Damon had mentioned at the Lockwood house. The Founder's Council would be there, so it was their chance to instigate.

"Do I really have to wear this?" Serena asked her father looking at the dress in the bag. "I've had my fill of wearing dresses. I had to wear one for over 900 years."

"It's a formal engagement." He stated. "Look presentable."

"You mean so I don't make you look bad?"

"Just put it on." He muttered as he walked away.

"It's a good thing it's pretty and expensive." She yelled back to him making sure he heard it before she went upstairs to change. She came down twenty minutes later. Elijah was waiting by the stairs alongside Damon when she came down. The dress she was wearing was a shimmering dark red silk with spaghetti straps and low cut back. She wore red heels, and her mother's gold medallion necklace. She had extensions in her hair making it longer so she could wrap the back up into a French bun with her bangs dangling along the sides of her face. When she came to the bottom, now standing nearly the same height as her father, she looked him in the eye. "Satisfied?"

"Very." Damon said, which Elijah didn't like and he gave him the eye.

"I appreciate the flattery Damon, but truth be told you're not my type."

"Why's that?"

"You don't want a woman who can knock you on your ass." She stated, which made Elijah happy, but he hid it. "And as I am over 700 hundred years older than you and you know who's daughter, I can, and I will." With that said she walked past him and out the door.

"Quite the pistol you have there." Damon told Elijah. "Are you proud?"

Elijah smirked and followed his daughter outside. As he came up behind her he noticed another tattoo on her back, which was showing. (Daughter of Elijah). He stopped her running his finger over it and it was hot. "We all have it." She said knowing what had caught his attention. "A reminder of where we came from. They're designed to burn hot when the person whose name it bears is close by, so we can always find each other."

Back at the estate everyone was trying to figure out how to get Elena back. They had saved Aaron and Noah, but he had gotten Elena as a back up plan. Serena felt horrible about it, but there was nothing she could do, she had to go the party. Alexander II decided that his grandchildren needed a break, they deserved a break. They had done everything so far, and he and his own children had done nothing but hide in that house. "Alex and I will get her." He said in his specific tone that everyone knew meant he was serious and not to argue. Though, some did anyway, and of course those some were grandchildren.

"Nonno, you've been out of this world for too long, it's much easier for us to blend in." Nicholas argued.

"Fair argument." Alexander admitted, but he had made up his mind. "However, Nicholas you've done enough. We will go find Elena, while you stay with Nathaniel and come up with your plan to kill those traitors."

"Yes sir." Nicholas gave in.

"Good boy." He said patting his grandson on the cheek with a smirk.

"Father, I think I should go with you as well." Daniel said.

"No, I have another job for you." Alexander replied. "Your brother."

"Father – "

"Listen." He said sternly. "Elijah must atone for his actions. I am not leaving this town until he does so."

"Nonno, really, we forgave him a long time ago."

"Do not lie to me, boy." Alexander said. "I know better. You are angrier than even your sister because you knew him. You haven't forgiven him." He stated, he could see it in their eyes when they looked at Elijah. And he knew Elijah saw it too. "Daniel, you're staying."

"Yes sir."

"Alex, let's go." They left together, Alex was holding the bag full of everything they would need.

They arrived together to the party and Carol answered the door. "Elijah." She said surprised.

"Hello, Carol."

"I didn't expect to see you here. And who's this?"

"This is Serena…" He hesitated for a moment making her wonder if he was actually going to admit it. "My daughter."

"Your daughter? You never said you had a daughter."

"You never asked."

"Oh, well, pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure's mine. And if you say what I think you want to say, please don't, I've heard it my entire life, and I'd rather not hear it again." She was referring to how much she looked like her father, which as she said she'd heard from everyone who'd ever met him. She used to hear it almost every day from her grandparents.

"Oh, ok." Carol stammered as Serena walked past her. "Please, come in."

Elijah caught up to her. "That was rude."

"I don't know her, so I don't care. Ooh, that smells good." She said smelling the entrée dish as the waiter walked by.

"Serena – "

"I know, I know." She muttered rolling her eyes. "Seriously, though, don't you ever get tired of all the formality? It's not the tenth century anymore where a woman can be stoned in the street for being unladylike, so excuse me for taking advantage of the times where a woman can act as she pleases."

"I understand your desire for such things, but this is not the place." He replied. "So control yourself."

"Fine, I'll behave." She sighed. She meant it, but she wasn't thrilled about the idea. She liked being different, she had gotten sick of being a lady a long time ago, it was boring. Elijah didn't blame her really. He could only imagine after all those years being yanked around by her husband like a servant, which wives were back then.

As they sat down for dinner, Carol looked at Serena curiously. "So Serena – " She said getting Serena's attention as she looked over her glass of wine. "What do you do?"

"Hm." She laughed to herself trying to think of a reasonable answer. She tried to be as honest as she could. "I don't really have a set job, I've been spending most of my time travelling."

"Oh." Carol said intrigued. "Where?"

"Europe mostly. I guess you could say I'm a linguist." She said not being able to resist the opportunity to show off, as always. It had always irritated her siblings since they were kids.

"Oh. How many languages can you speak?"

"Well, I don't know the exactly number but it's a little over ten."

"Ten languages?"

"I'm a fast learner." She said cunningly. Elijah thought, 'There's no denying she's a Nerva.'

Damon returned to the estate with Stefan hoping they had a plan ready to rescue Elena. However, when they walked in the door and saw that everyone was still there, they were far beyond upset. Damon even slammed the door to prove it. "What the hell?"

"What?" Sebastian asked.

"You're here." He stated. "You're supposed to be out there finding Elena!"

"Damon." Nicholas said getting his attention as he walked down the stairs. "Our grandfather and uncle went to get Elena. Don't ask why – " He said cutting him off. "That was his decision, and as head of the house it's his decision to make. So here we are making our arrangements to kill our two prisoners."

"Fine." Stefan agreed. "Where did they go and we'll meet up with them."

"No." Daniel said. "Father would see that as an impertinence. If he wanted you to go he would have waited for you."

"So we're supposed to wait and do nothing?" Damon asked.

"We understand your feelings." Daniel said. "Perhaps, myself more than anyone."

"You think just because you loved your brother's wife you know how I feel?" Damon asked boldly.

Daniel stepped closer getting in Damon's face. "I know what it's like to want what you can't have." He stated seriously. "And I know what it's like to feel powerless, because I lost her. So yes, I know exactly how you feel."

"What do you want us to do?" Stefan asked.

"Stay and wait, just as Damon said." Daniel said still eyeing Damon. "Elena will be back soon enough."

Elena was in a house she had never seen before. As she opened her eyes she realized she was laying on a bed in a bedroom – a nice bedroom. The last time she had been kidnapped she woke up on a dirty couch in a dusty old house. This house, however, was beautiful. It reminded her of Serena's estate in the woods. She looked to the side and saw there was a silver tray with a plate of food and a glass of water sitting on the desk for her. She was hungry, but she wasn't sure enough to actually eat it. She got up and walked to the door, carefully opened it – it was creaky, and peeked into the hallway to see it empty. She crept out to the banister to look down and still didn't see anybody, so she carefully made her way to the stairs and down. Soon, though she heard someone coming so she had to rush back up the stairs and got down on her knees by the banister so she could still see them. She recognized the vampire who had taken her, and the warlock he was talking to who was dressed in white.

"Is she awake yet?" The vampire asked.

"No. What are we going to do with her when she does?"

"That's for Luke to decide when he gets back."

"If he gets back." The warlock corrected. "They may have captured him."

"Serena would never be that stupid. She knows that if we don't hear from him, we are to take that as if he were dead and kill the descendent." The vampire said, which worried Elena. Her eyes got big and she started to run back to the bedroom in hopes of finding a way out. Then she heard a phone ring, so she stopped to listen.

"Master?" She heard the vampire say, so Luke was alright. That didn't make her feel any better.

Luke was in his cell and Nathaniel was holding his own cell phone to his ear as Luke had his hands bound behind his back. "Yes you idiot, it's me. Did you get the girl?"

"Yes, sir we have her." He answered, and Elena crept back up to the banister to listen more carefully.

"Good, keep her there, I have someone coming to get her for me."

"Are you not coming back?"

"Not yet. I don't know how long I'll be so I want you to go back to Salem after they take the girl, you understand?"

"Yes sir."

Nathaniel hung up the phone and put it in his pocket since Luke didn't need it anymore. "If she's hurt, it's on your head." Nathaniel warned, which Luke just laughed at. Nathaniel back handed as hard as he could. "I mean it!"

Klaus laughed from the other cell.

"What are you laughing at?" Nathaniel rasped.

"And you say you're nothing like me." Klaus said smiling as he came to stand by the bars where Nathaniel could see his face. "You're angry, that's good. You're going to need it."

Nathaniel left Luke's cell, locking it up then walked over to his father. "I am nothing like you."

"We'll see."

As Elijah and Serena walked into the door Daniel stopped them. What his father had said to him was ringing in his ears and he had to do what he had to do. "Elijah." Daniel said turning to look at his brother. "Um, this is for you." He said pulling an old envelope out of his jacket pocket. "She asked me to give it to you."

"Who?"

Without answering Daniel grinned and left with the others leaving Elijah alone. He sat down eager to open the envelope, but at the same time hesitant because he didn't know who wrote it. After minutes of eye balling it he finally ripped it open and realized the paper inside was much older than the envelope. Once he read the caption he realized who wrote it, and his heart sank, he almost didn't want to read the rest.

My Love,

It has been years now since I last saw you, enough that I have no babies living under my roof anymore, save the last two whom you never met. However, I am not writing this simply to tell you about them, in fact it is not about them at all. I wrote this for me, to say everything on the long list of things left unsaid between us. I know not where you are, or even when as you read this, but it does not matter. It matters not because even if I am long dead by the time you read this, everything I want to tell you remains true.

I want you to know first that I am not angry with you for leaving, not anymore. I know you had a reason, though I may not know what it is. I would guess it has something to do with what happened that night, which I forgave you for a long time ago when I realized what you and your family are. Yes, I know. Daniel was more than willing to share, in your defense I might add. Nothing ever happened between us, I promise you, I only let him into my life because your father commanded he step in to look after the children, they needed a father he said. I would never betray you.

I cannot help but look back and see all the things left undone and unsaid between us. It seems every day something happens that I wish I could tell you about, and sometimes it angers me so much I do not know what to do. Then a memory will come to me and the anger fades. I remember the first time I saw you. I was young and naïve, a girl who feared love would never find me when I was being forced to marry a man I barely knew. That night I prayed for you, I loved you from the first time I saw you. Then we were married and everything seemed to happen so fast that it was hard to breathe sometimes. There were times I was not sure how you felt about me. Some nights were cold, but some were warm, and in those nights sometimes I thought I could see a glimpse of something more behind your eyes. I hoped you would learn to love me as I loved you, whether that hope ever became a reality is beyond me. I still hope one day I will see you again before my time is up, but if not I will wait. I will wait forever if I have to, because I love you. I never said it before out of fear of not hearing it returned, but I have always loved you Elijah, from the night I first saw you to forever. That is what is important, that is what I had to tell you. I only wish I would have said it then when I had the chance.

Yours Always,  
>Mara<p>

P.S. You should know something about our babies, one in particular. I am not sure, but I have a feeling that you will see them again, so promise me one thing. If that second chance rolls around, take advantage of it, do not waste it. I know you, and you may think you are doing fine on your own, and that they do not need you. Well, love you could not be more wrong. Daniel may have raised them but he is not their father. Not even he could fill that hole, it was too big. Now, the first three remember you so it will be easier for them to accept that you are their father and to move on from there, but the twins, especially Serena, hold Daniel on a pedestal. However, do not fight with him. He will step aside if you step up. Do not let her run away, she is too much like you so she will hide behind that wall, you just have to keep pushing until it breaks.

"I miss that girl." A woman said startling him. He looked up to see his mother. "She sure was one of a kind. Of course, she had to be to have you."

"Mother, please." Elijah sighed not wanting to hear her go on about his lost wife.

"No, just hear me out." She said sitting next to him. "You hide." She sighed putting her hand on his face lovingly. "You always have, like your father."

"Mother, what is this about?" He asked removing her hand from his face.

"Why did you save Elena from your brother?"

"Because I didn't want the curse to be broken." He answered. "I wanted to kill him."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" He spat. "He killed you, he killed all of you, and then he killed me."

"Elijah." She took his hand to calm him. "You knew what he was doing for centuries before you turned against him. Why did you try to save them?" He didn't say anything. "I know about Katerina." She had his attention again and she continued. "It wasn't until you met her that you felt something again. However, it wasn't just because she was charming and beautiful. I bet you looked at her the same way you looked at Mara when she wasn't looking." He looked away unable to face the truth. "You loved her, and now you regret not telling her more than ever because of that letter."

"How do you know?" He asked still keeping his face turned away.

"I know my son. I saw the way you looked at her the night you met her, and I saw the way she looked at you. You had wanted to run away from it from the beginning, you just waited for an excuse and attacking her was it."

He finally looked at her again seriously. "I almost killed her."

"Almost." She pointed out.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

He stood up angrily. "Why are you doing this?"

She stood up too to face him. "Because you have to stop torturing yourself. You've been doing it since it happened, and it only got worse when you realized she was the one they resemble."

He couldn't deny that, he wanted to, but it'd be a lie and she'd see right through him. "It's like she's haunting me."

Feeling for him she took his face in her hands looking up at him with soft motherly eyes. "After reading that letter you still think she would haunt you? She loved you too much to hold a grudge." Then a smile came over her lips as she remembered something. "I remember when the twins were born. She couldn't bear to look at them because she couldn't stop crying. Even as they grew up there were times the boys would just look the right way and she'd fall into a fit of tears thinking you were haunting her."

"She told you all this?" He asked curiously.

"Sweetheart, she didn't have to." She said. Then she got up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Just promise me something."

"Hm?"

"Forgive yourself, let her back in and hold onto her, and talk to those children of yours. They need you as much as you need them. Especially, Serena."

Knowing that sounded familiar he stopped her before she got out the door. "Did you read this?" He asked holding the letter up.

"No, of course not."

He opened it up to show her. "That's what she said, in the very end."

"Sweetheart, we all know that girl. Serena is the most complicated girl – woman -" She corrected herself. "In this family and she gets it from you. She has a tendency to hide, just like you and your father. Daniel tried, your father tried, we all tried to break that shell, but we couldn't. Maybe you're the only one who can. Just don't give up on her."


	21. Bloodstone

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

**Chapter 21: Bloodstone**

**Only one more after this…let me know what you think, please and thank you. **

Even though Dorian had actually brought two people with him, Noah was the only one known about. Dorian had taken Alec to the shed where the tunnel came out, and told him to stay there until the time was right. With so much going on, Nicholas had a hard time deciding when that was. However, since Luke was now in a cage and Serena had some time on her hands, Nicholas finally let him out by taking him through the tunnel. They had to make a pit stop though, rather than going to the house first. Nicholas took him to the cells where he could confront Luke.

Nicholas walked up to the cell and knocked on the bars. "Hey, got someone who wants to see you."

Luke got anxious hoping it was Serena, so he stood and came to the bars where he could see, but instead of seeing the woman he wanted, he saw his worst enemy. "It's not possible." He whispered.

Nicholas pulled Alec's shirt collar down to expose his necklace. The necklace was on a golden chain with a golden crescent moon, and from the top to the bottom points of it a circular gemstone was attached. Luke couldn't quite make out what it was, but it looked like a black bloodstone. From what he knew about magic, bloodstones had the ability to give the wearer strength, agility, and it was even used in enchanted jewelry for revival. So apparently he had been wearing it the night Luke killed him.

"I should've known." Luke groaned angrily. "She would never let you die."

"She doesn't know." Alec told him. "When she found me I was still dead lying in my own blood."

"How did that even work?" Luke asked. "You're not exactly human."

Ignoring Klaus, Nicholas turned back to Luke. "Look, the only reason I brought him down here, is so you can see that you lost. Unlike back then, she is no longer your wife, he can have her to himself."

Angrily Luke banged himself up against the bars hoping they'd break, but nothing happened. They didn't even jump.

"You won't stop us this time." Alec said as they disappeared back into the darkness. Alec's eyes glowed yellow in the dark proving what he was.

"Her grandfather will never let you have her!" He yelled knowing they could still hear him even though they were on the other side of the door. "I hope he rips your head off!"

"I thought you didn't love her." Klaus said from the other cell.

Luke turned his attention to his master still growling angrily. "What do you know about love?"

"I've loved many women in my time, in my way." Klaus smirked in his cocky way.

"Like your bastard's mother? How many more bastard's did you beget I wonder."

"None." Klaus answered. "I made sure of that."

"I see."

"DO you love her?" Klaus asked curiously. "Or do you merely want her because she is a Nerva, not to mention she was the only Nerva available to you."

"You brought us together, yet you ask me now?"

"She is still my niece, we share some blood. I may die tomorrow night so I merely wish to see if I made a mistake in putting my faith in you merely because you are of the Flavian line."

"I followed you; I did everything you ever asked of me."

Klaus stood grasping the bars angrily. "No, you failed. It is because of your foolishness that they live!"

"You told me to kill them!" Luke stated, yelling back.

"Yes, kill. Do they look dead to you?" He asked rhetorically. "But you were in such a hurry to have your taste of my niece that you missed the obvious."

"You didn't know either, and if you knew your own son was the one to kill you why let him live?"

"Because I thought through him I could breed a new race."

Luke nodded accepting that the blame was between both of them, and there was no winning the argument. "I will get us out of this. I swear."

"You're too weak." Klaus rasped. "All you can think about is revenge for your lost wife. If anyone is getting out of this, it will be me. I have no use for you anymore."

"I am Lucretius Flavius Vespasian II, grandson of Titus Flavius Vespasian, and heir to the Flavian Dynasty, you are nothing but a bastard, you will show me respect!" He said boldly.

"I own you!" Klaus yelled loudly growling showing his fangs and his red eyes glaring in anger. "I made you, I gave you this life, I made it all possible."

Luke submitted getting down on his knees in fear. "Help me survive this, and I swear to you I will do anything you ask of me."

"If I were to save you, it would be only to kill you myself."

Upstairs Daniel and Serena were arguing. He was trying to get her to understand that Elijah was her father, she had to give him a chance to act like one.

"How can you say that?" She asked him. "You of all people. You are my father, not him."

"Serena, I know and I'm grateful." He said holding her hands in his. "I will always look at you as mine, but by blood you are his, he has that right to you."

"He gave up that right."

"Serena." He said sternly. "This was practically your mother's dying wish. She knew, somehow she knew, you would be the one to see him again, and she begged me to make sure you had your chance to know him."

"I can't." She said softly and then ran as fast as she could flinging the back door open, as it was the closest.

"Serena...Serena!" Daniel called but she kept running.

"What's wrong?" Elijah asked as he came over. He had heard them arguing as he came downstairs.

"She just took off in classic Serena style." He explained, but he wasn't really that worried. "She'll come back eventually, just let her be."

"No." Elijah disagreed. "I'll go get her."

Daniel grabbed his arm preventing Elijah from walking out. "Elijah, if I can't get her, how will you?"

"As you said, I am her father, not you." Elijah removed his younger brother's grip. "Stand down." Elijah took off running after that and was able to cut her off by not announcing himself and he caught her.

"Hey, let go of me." She fought with him, spinning and throwing him against a tree but he wouldn't let go. "Let go!"

He spun her around to make her look him in the eye. "Serena, look at me…Look at me! I'm sorry."

"It's too late to apologize." She rasped still fighting with him trying to pry his hand off her wrist.

"It's never too late." He said keeping his voice calm. He moved his hand from her wrist to her upper arm and took hold of the other one too.

"Let go of me."

"It wasn't your fault."

She glared at him, and frankly he knew the look, he'd seen it in the mirror. It wasn't one he was proud of, but that temper was a family trait. "I know what you're trying to do and it won't work." She kept struggling trying to get him to loosen his grip even a little so she could slip free but he wouldn't.

Really for the first time he looked into her eyes and saw his own. Mara was right, it was almost like looking into a mirror, and frankly it made him melt. He had hid all his life, only his parents and his siblings really knew him, knew his emotions, and he imagined it was the same for her. And all the time he spent with Klaus he had turned his emotions off. Except she had loved, she loved a man with all she had and then he was taken from her. In that way she was like her mother. She was surprised when his hand moved her hair from her face affectionately. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop!" She screamed in one last attempt to keep her emotions in but it didn't work. But it was loud enough that he cringed in pain and his grip loosened enough for her to slip free, but he was quick and was able to grab her again before she got anywhere. She pulled her weight down like a child fighting with him. "Please…I hate you." Seeing his opportunity he pulled her weight back up so she was standing pulling her close. "I hate you, I hate you." She kept repeating pounding her fist against his chest until he had won wrapping his arms around her and she broke down into tears.

"I'm so sorry I left you."

"Why?" She cried banging her fists against his chest, before giving up. "Why weren't we good enough?"

"It wasn't your fault...It was I who was not good enough." He waited for her to relax her body, every muscle was still tensed in resistance mode, while she cried against him with her arms in between them. Knowing what he had to say to get her to stop resisting he sucked it up and said what he'd held in for a thousand years. "I love you." Instead it only made her fight harder not wanting to believe it. She wanted to hate him, and it was easier to do so imagining she meant nothing to him. He only held on tighter. "I love you." He said again. "I've always loved you, all of you, because you're mine. I should have come home, I should've protected you. For that I'm sorry." Finally she relaxed and he felt her arms wrap around him and grasp his shoulders, and kept crying.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. I should've been a better daughter, I should've – "

"Sh…It's going to be alright." When Elijah looked up he saw Daniel smiling at him from behind a tree, Elijah could see his was proud of him again.

Elena was upstairs pretending to still be sleeping while the warlock checked on her. He left her hearing a knock on the door. Her eyes flew open as she heard him going down the stairs. She looked out the window to see a car, and two men leaning up against the hood. One she recognized, it was Alexander III, MIlena's father. The other she didn't know. At the door was Alexander II talking to the vampire named Frederick.

"Are you here for the girl?" He asked Alexander, who nodded his reply. "Prove to me you're the ones Luke sent."

"If you wish to call him just to ask, be my guest." Alexander said knowing the man in front of him would be far too scared to call his master just to asked a stupid question. His plan worked and the warlock named Adam invited him in. "Let me remind you that if she has been harmed in any way there will be consequences."

"She's fine." Adam promised. "However, she's still asleep."

"Better not be anything too serious." Alexander warned as he made his way to the stairs following Adam. Elena hurried back to the bed to lay down before they made it. Alexander walked in while Adam waited by the door.

"See, she's fine." Adam said.

"Good." Alexander groaned as he picked her up. Carefully he carried her downstairs and to the car. Alex opened the door for his father and helped him put her inside. Aaron was with them, they hadn't gotten far before they realized they needed a car and neither of them knew how to drive, so Aaron came to their rescue and drove them in Dorian's car.

Frederick saw a tattoo on Aaron as he turned around to get into the car. It was Roman. "Nerva." Frederick whispered realizing what it said. "It's them!" He yelled getting Adam's attention and then charged for the two men.

Alexander quickly shut the door and Aaron ran into the car. "Get her out of here." Alexander ordered before being tackled by the other vampire. Alex ran for the warlock who had just come out of the house and tackled him and broke his neck before he could use his power. He ran to his father to see him pinned with the other vampire on top of him. Alexander overpowered him easily punching him in the face then punching through his chest to pull out his heart. Frederick fell dead and Alex helped his father to his feet. They ran to the end of the driveway and found the car waiting for them.

"Well, that was easy." Aaron said rhetorically.

Alexander and Alex chuckled. Alex looked to Elena who was still pretending and taking up the whole back seat so he smacked her leg. "We know you're not sleeping."

Elena opened her eyes and slowly sat up behind Aaron. "How did you know?"

"Your pulse is beating too fast." He stated and Elena's hand flew to her chest to feel how fast her heart was beating. He sat beside her closing the door."I imagine you were nervous."

"You could say that." She said as the car started to move. "Thank you for saving me." She said looking to Alexander in the front.

"You're welcome." Alex said for his father nodding his head like a gentleman.

"And thank you…"

"Aaron, Aaron Pierce."

"Pierce? Isn't that the name Katherine used?"

"Yep." Aaron confirmed.

"Another relative." Elena sighed. She didn't think she could take any more mysterious relatives popping up. Being related to Elijah was bad enough.

"Sorry, blame Serena and Sebastian. They were the ones who made sure there were always at least two descendents in each generation to keep the family going. You and me just happen to be the ones that are left."

"So, you're my cousin?"

"Honestly, I don't really know how to say it. I just know we have the same great-grandfather, or is it great-great-grandfather?" He pondered thinking to himself.

She leaned back into the seat. Just when she though she couldn't learn anymore about herself, someone shows up to tell her more family history. "How do you know Serena?"

"Through our mutual great-great-grandfather. He was born in 1850…" He had to stop and think about the precise year. "7, I think. Anyway, his parents died in 1861, and that's why Serena left Mystic Falls. She had to go take care of him, she raised him as her own. The only son she ever knew. Our family has stayed close to her ever since."

"Then she knew Isobel?"

"Yeah, Isobel found her. How do you think Isobel knew so much? She wasn't just good at research, she had a good source. Isobel's your mother right?"

"Yeah." Elena admitted. "But I was adopted."

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"No, I loved my parents, and my brother."

He caught the past tense part, and knew she meant they had died, and he felt bad for her. He knew other people who had been adopted, or lost a parent like Eli who fit both categories. He knew the signs of that kind of loneliness. "I don't know what it's like to lose a parent, so I can't sympathize."

"You're lucky." She said looking out the window sadly.

"That's what they tell me."

After a few moments of silence, she became too curious. "So, Klaus's bloodline still lives too?" Elena asked.

"Nathaniel couldn't bear the thought of his grandfather's line being destroyed completely over something like a love affair like Alexander wanted, so he had his own son to keep it going. However, he did breed the wolf out of their blood. That line is nothing but witches now."

"And you said there must always be at least two?"

"Yeah, in our family there are me and you, and in theirs there are Eli and Noah. You'll meet them when we get back to Mystic Falls."

As Serena and Elijah were headed back to the house they ran into someone. Serena suddenly stopped dead in her tracks seeing the man in front of her. Elijah looked back at her then to the man wondering who he could be to cause her to look like she'd seen a ghost.

"Hello, love." He said softly grinning his little crooked grin she had fallen head over heels for. "You look good." He honestly didn't know what else to say.

The two men watched her eyes drift closed and then her body went limp as it fell backwards. Elijah quickly caught her before she hit the ground and picked her up hooking his arm under her knees. "Who are you?" He asked the man before taking her to the house.

"The name's Alec. Who are you?"

"Elijah."

"So you're the – "

"Don't say it." Elijah warned.

Alec smirked finding it somewhat amusing that Elijah was so sensitive about his misdeed. "She looks like you." He stated.

Elijah didn't say anymore, he already knew that fact. So he walked past Alec to the house and took Serena up to her room. Alec followed close behind, of course, and stayed in her room with her waiting for her to wake up.

Nathaniel was with the rest of his cousins in the living room as they came up with their plan. "Milena." Nathaniel said getting her attention. "I'll take those now."

She pulled the moonstone from out of her pocket and took the necklace off her neck and handed them to him. He put the necklace on and stared at the moonstone for a minute. It'd been a long time since he'd seen it. He really just couldn't believe it was finally time to rid the world of the man he unfortunately had to call father.

"But aren't there two?" Annemarie asked. "Necklaces, I mean."

"Where's the other one Nicholas?" Nathaniel asked.

"On the neck of Serena's lover." He stated.

"Come again?"

"Did you really think I would let him die?" Nicholas asked them all seeing they were all shocked. "I gave him the necklace."

"Alec's alive?" Milena asked.

Nicholas nodded. "He's upstairs."

"Why did we not know about this?" Milena asked referring to herself and Annemarie who were probably the nosiest of the family.

"Because you would have told her." He stated and Milena wasn't going to deny that, they could never keep a secret between them. That's why he didn't tell Nathaniel either. "And as long as Luke was still an issue, I had to keep him away, or else he would've figured it out and killed him for good."

Nathaniel came upstairs to see Alec cuddling up to his cousin, and he couldn't help but smirk as he shook his head laughing to himself. He was happy that she was happy; she deserved someone like him, someone who truly loved her. He walked over to Alec's side of the bed and nudged him waking him up.

Alec jumped worried at whom it might be then he saw him and relaxed. "Let me guess." He said. "You must be Nathaniel."

"Lucky guess. Sorry, to disturb you, but tomorrow night is the full moon and you have something I need." Nathaniel said holding out his hand. Alec looked down at the necklace he was wearing holding it. He was hesitant to take it off. "Don't worry, you won't magically die again if you take it off."Alec took his word for it and slowly took the necklace off, once he saw that he was still alive he handed it over. Nathaniel put it on then turned to leave.

"If you don't mind me asking." Alec said stopping him. "What do you plan to do to him?"

"My father?" Nathaniel asked curious as to why Alec would care about Klaus.

"No, Luke."

"Oh, right. That's for her to decide." He gestured to the sleeping Serena.

"What I wish for she will not allow."

"I'm listening."

"You know how I died, yes?"

Nathaniel nodded. "I've been told."

"I want a rematch."

Nathaniel was intrigued, and confused at the same time. He understood wanting a rematch, that was pride talking, but what gave him the notion that he could win? "You wish to fight him again? What makes you think you have any better of a chance than before?"

"The moon will be my advantage. He didn't grant me that last time."

Nathaniel sighed thinking about it. It was an intriguing idea and it'd be ironic for sure, but would she ever agree to it? "If you can get her to agree, then you may have your duel." Nathaniel said and left.


	22. Judgment Day

**Chapter 22: Judgment Day**

**Ok, sorry it took a while, here it is, the last chapter….I might keep going with the story, though, I enjoy it, and I know u guys do too, so let me know.**

Serena's eyes fluttered open to see she was in her room. She remembered walking back with her father and seeing what had to have been a ghost. Then she noticed there was a hand on her stomach and she was being cuddled, she turned her head to see him. Quickly she jumped out of bed startling Alec awake. She backed into a chair and nearly fell over, and Alec got to his knees on the bed.

"Serena, calm down. It's me, I swear."

"It's not possible."

"You of all people would not believe me? You know more about what is possible than anyone."

"You were dead, I saw you."

"You saw Nicholas dead too, remember, yet he's downstairs with everyone else." He got off the bed and walked over to her seeing she was in a fragile state. It hurt him to see her so upset, he didn't blame her, it was hard for him to remain calm too seeing her for the first time in two hundred years. "Love." He said softly cupping her face in his hands. "It's alright."

With him so close it was hard for her to concentrate and keep her wits when all she wanted to do was fall into his arms, but she had to know if it was really him or some cruel trick. "Prove to me – "

Knowing what she was going to say he cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. It was brief, just enough to prove his point and he pulled away looking her in the eye. She inhaled deeply trying to remain calm realizing it was him, no imposter would ever be able to kiss her the way Alec had. She let relief wash over her and her eyes watered as she smiled up at him letting him know she believed him. He gave her his smirk she loved so much and she melted into him kissing him again.

However, their time together was cut short as Alexander appeared in the doorway looking unpleased. She jumped back away from Alec wiping her lips and lowering her head knowing her lover was the reason for her grandfather's attitude. Alec wondered if she was ashamed of him, until she stood up for him.

"I want you away from my granddaughter werewolf." Alexander said bluntly staring him down with fierce eyes. "Do so and I'll let you leave this town safely just as you entered it, do it not and I swear I'll rip every limb from your body."

"No." Serena said standing protectively in front of Alec. "Kill him and you'll have to kill me too."

"Serena Eliza Nerva Petrova, you will do as I tell you."

"No, Nonno. I love him."

"He's a werewolf!"

"He's not Arsenios!" She yelled back. Arsenios was Niklaus's real father, the werewolf he murdered.

"Luke may have been an unworthy man and disagreeable in every possible way, but you were still his wife and unfaithful. You know what that does to your reputation, to your name, it's a disgrace."

"I don't care about my reputation. I care about him. He is the only decent man I've known in my entire thousand years of this life of shit. He loves me, for me, not my money. He knows what I am, and yet he stood by my side giving up his pack and everyone he knew just to be with me."

"Sir." Alec said stepping forward. "I know about your past, I know it was you who started this vile war between the species, and I understand your situation. I am not that man, the only thing we have in common is our love for a woman everyone says we have no right to. It may be wrong, but it's what we feel, and you can't turn your back on it. Give me the chance to prove myself."

Alexander sighed running his hands through his hair as he fought every bone in his body which was telling him to kill the werewolf, but the look in his granddaughter's eyes was breaking his heart. She had always had the power over him, like his own daughters who he'd do anything for.

"Please, Nonno." Serena whispered stepping forward to him. She looked at him with her big brown eyes which were wet from crying. Alexander couldn't fight it anymore. His arms fell in surrender and he wiped her eyes of the tears and hugged her kissing her temple.

Stefan and Damon waited impatiently downstairs. Aaron had called and confirmed that they had Elena and were on their way back. Everyone else didn't seem very worried about Elena, they were more concerned with the full moon that was tonight.

Finally, it was time for the big event. When Klaus's escorts (his brothers) came downstairs, they were a little surprised to see that he had already transformed, there was wolf pacing inside the cell growling and glaring at them. Well, a werewolf bite wouldn't harm them, but he could tear them apart pretty well, and then take off running to God knows where.

They all averted their eyes quickly looking at the ceiling as they heard a ruckus upstairs. Luke smirked from his cell knowing his master's plan had been set in motion, he had promised Luke he'd get them out of there.

"What's so funny?" Daniel asked.

"It seems the cavalry's arrived."

Alexander was in Serena's room talking to her and Alec still when he heard it, but by then someone had come upstairs and kicked the door in. Protectively he stood in front of his granddaughter and she rose to her feet behind him seeing it was Dominique. "We just want the girl." The man said.

"You traitor." She said. She had wondered where he disappeared to. He had asked for sanctuary and then disappeared when it wasn't granted. It seems he went back to his master, and probably took a real beating for it.

Dominique looked over his shoulder to his partner and nodded and the other man left. Dominique walked closer until he heard Alexander inhale deeply like a snake hissing before the strike. "I won't harm you, I swear."

"You won't lay a finger on her." Alec said.

"I'm not here to – " He stopped suddenly as a wooden stake pierced through his heart. He fell dead to the ground and Serena smiled seeing the man who killed him.

Then she walked over to him for a hug. "Eli." She whispered happy to see who she called her nephew, since he was raised by Nathaniel, and she considered Nathaniel to be a brother.

"No time for catching up." He said pulling his aunt off of him. "You have to get out of here."

"But, they're still downstairs."

"Aunt Serena, you're running out of time."

"The boy's right." Alexander said, and Eli stared at him, he didn't like being called a boy. "We should go." He took Serena's hand leading her out the door and she quickly grabbed Alec's. Eli had gone upstairs to find his cousin, he had seen Aaron already, he was downstairs fighting off the vampires trying to come in the door.

Noah had gone downstairs, he wanted to see the man he had the unfortunate ability to call forefather. When he looked inside, he saw the black wolf staring back at him as if Klaus knew exactly who he was.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alexander III asked.

Carefully Noah reached into his pocket to pull out a small syringe and what looked like a pipe or a flute of some kind. Klaus knew what it was and he growled. Noah slipped the syringe inside the hollow wooden flute and put the other end to his mouth. Klaus got low to the ground ready to spring to try to avoid it, but when Noah blew it through the bars he wasn't quick enough and it still shot him in the leg.

"What is that?" Elijah asked curiously.

"It'll temporarily keep him from being able to transform." Noah explained and they all watched the wolf curl up into a ball and then it slowly transformed back into Klaus. "You can get him out of here now." Noah said softly then walked away.

"You're a traitor to your line." Klaus told him, but Noah ignored him and kept walking upstairs.

When he got to the top of the stairs he was almost knocked backwards as a vampire was flung into him, but he caught himself on the wall luckily. He looked over and saw Eli fighting more of them with a wooden stake in one hand and a dagger in the other slicing away at their limbs. Eli was a fighter to the core, that was his whole life – well, besides his wife and daughter. Noah hoped they were safe. Suddenly, Noah was grabbed by the vampire that had run into him, he thought she was dead, but apparently he had been wrong. He held up his hand and she immediately fell to the ground holding her head in agony. Then his hand lit on fire and at the same time so did her clothes. She started screaming and ran through a window as she burned.

"There you are." Eli said turning after hearing her screaming. "Where have you been?" He asked as he plunged his stake into another vampire's chest.

"Downstairs with our favorite ancestor."

"I see." He looked behind Noah and saw them coming up the stairs carrying Klaus's body as he was too weak to move. They stepped aside letting them by. The fight had died down enough that they got a clear path to the back door.

Noah and Eli moved to the dining room to see more family members. However, they weren't fighting because Annemarie and Milena were singing and in doing so dropping all the unwanted vampires to their knees. That included the ones in the living room who had attacked Stefan and Damon. Together they killed them while they were down then ran into the dining room to see what was going on.

"All of you should go." Annemarie said. "We'll stay in case more come."

Milena noticed Eli and ran to him happy to see him. She hugged him and kissed his cheek grateful that he was alright. Then she remembered his family and worriedly asked him, "Caterina? Eliza?"

"They're fine." He promised. "We should go."

"You go, we stay."

"Milena – "

"Nathaniel will need you, Eli. You must go. Noah can stay here with us to help spell the house and then we will follow, I promise."

"Yes ma'am." He said giving up the argument. He backed away and started escorting everyone else out of the house. Noah went to work casting his spells outside to prevent vampires in as well until they got back.

Stefan and Damon followed Eli on their way to the burial ground where the ritual had to be done. He was a surprise to them. He was much stronger than any witch they'd met, yet he didn't rely on magic in battle, he fought like a human would.

"So, what's your part in all this?" Damon asked curiously.

"I'm Nathaniel's blood."

"We know that."

"What does Nathaniel need you for?" Stefan asked. Eli, kept walking as if ignoring him. "I heard Milena, the tone in her voice when she said Nathaniel will need you. What did she mean?"

Eli explained while he loaded a shotgun. "Do you know what a bloodstone is?" He asked them.

"A stone." Damon stated not seeing the importance.

"I take that as a no." Eli muttered. "The bloodstone is the stone used for restoring life. It's usually put into jewelry." Eli held up his right hand so they could see the ring on his finger.

"The Gilbert rings." Stefan stated, which it resembled, except the Gilbert rings were black, and his was red.

"However, some bloodstones are different. There are those which are used to protect humans, they're pure black stones. Then, there are those like us who are not exactly human, including werewolves and on occasion vampires, so we need a different kind of bloodstone. You ever wonder where it gets its name?"

"From its color?" Stefan asked.

"I'm sure you noticed the stone on my finger is red, and red is the color of blood. My stone is not pure, like those of your friends. In order for it to work on a supernatural being a bloodstone needs to absorb the blood of a living human relative."

"That's why Nathaniel needs you." Stefan said, figuring it out. "He needs you to make the necklace work. If he kills Klaus he kills himself, but with that necklace on he'll be resurrected."

"But wouldn't that resurrect Klaus?" Damon asked.

"Not if you burn his body first." Eli said. "And no, the necklace already works, Nathaniel's mother made sure of that. He needs a witch, and I happy to be the best qualified."

"So, Nathaniel kills Klaus and himself, you burn Klaus' body, then you use his bloodstone to bring him back to life?" Stefan summarized.

"Yes."

"Why do I get the feeling that there's something more that you're not telling us?" Damon said and Eli stopped to look at them. "Elena was a key ingredient in the ritual to break the curse, is she involved in this one?"

"No. The blood of the doppelganger as an ingredient was an insurance policy." Eli stated confusing them. "Josephine had hoped that by involving the doppelganger it would…" He paused searching for the right word. "Inspire Elijah to turn against him in order to save the woman who looked like his wife."

"How do you know the necklace will still work after a thousand years?"

"Well, it brought back Alec's life, didn't it?"

"How is that possible? By what you just said, the necklace only protects relatives of whosever blood is inside the stone."

"So I did." Eli said as he started walking again. "So what does that tell you about the blood inside the stone?"

"Alec is a descendent of Nathaniel too?"

"No, Alec is a werewolf, remember? Nathaniel's line is purely witches. Josephina saw to that. But, yes they are related. Nathaniel's grandmother is the woman from which Josephina took the blood which is in the necklace."

Soon the three of them came to the burial ground where fires were lit in a circle. The two traitors were tied to the pyre. Stefan saw Elena standing next to Aaron and Serena and ran to hug her happy that she was alright. Damon rushed over concerned as well, but didn't say anything.

"I'm here." Eli announced walking over to Nathaniel. "Who's first?"

"Luke." Nathaniel stated. "The only question is how."

"I thought we already answered it." Alec said, and Serena looked at him curiously.

"What? What solution did the two of you come up with that I don't know about?" She asked in a hurry as she always did when she was nervous.

Alec walked to Luke facing him as he stood toe to toe with him. "We both want each other dead over the same prize. There's only one solution."

"No!" Serena said loudly. "You will not fight each other again. Alec, you can't."

"The moon is already taking effect, Serena, all I have to do is bite him and I win, but that's not enough." He turned to face Luke again. "I'm going to rip your head off and eat your black heart." Alec rasped.

"I'd like to see you try."

Aaron released Luke from the binding freeing his hands. Alec backed away holding his arms out as he walked into where the moonlight shown down. The pain overtook him as he started to transform and Luke saw that as his opportunity to charge and end the fight before it even began. Serena tensed and wanted to run to save her lover, but her father grabbed her arms tight holding her in place. She couldn't bear to watch and turned her head into Elijah's chest as she cried. Until she heard a growl that could only be made by a wolf and turned her head to see a white wolf standing in the light snarling at Luke who was lying on the ground bleeding from his leg. Luke knew it was over, he got to his feet and lunged at the wolf in a final attempt to grab him and break his neck. Luke was able to get a hold of him after a flash of the two dodging each other, and Alec began to struggle. Serena's fear overpowered her and she shoved Elijah off to run to Alec's rescue as she separated the two then threw Luke as hard as she could into a nearby tree. She turned to face the wolf who was snarling at her and she fell to her knees facing him.

"Alec." She whispered as he came closer still growling. "Alec, it's me….Alec." She cried upset that he didn't recognize her. She closed her eyes as the wolf lunged back then leapt forward thinking he was going to pounce on her, but after he jumped over her head she turned to see him land on Luke ripping at his throat with his teeth.

"Your servant's dead." Nathaniel told his father. "Now it's your turn."

"You believe you can win, and I admire your confidence, of course, you are my son, but it's misplaced."

"Oh, how wrong you are." Nathaniel said turning to face his father and revealed the necklace around his neck.

"I should've known." Klaus said lowly. "She would never have let you die."

"No, only you."

"All I have to do is rip it from your neck and then I get all of eternity to torture you for your betrayal, son."

"You're the traitor, father, not I."

Nathaniel released his father and they moved to the center of the circle. Elijah couldn't stay to watch and he left knowing no matter the outcome it would end in Klaus's death, even if it was he who came out victorious because killing his son would only be killing himself and even Klaus could not undo what Josephina had done. Serena stayed sitting in her spot crying as the white wolf ran off into the darkness, then Nicholas and Sebastian picked up Luke's mangled body to the pyre and lit it.

Eli took the moonstone and set it on the ground in the moonlight beside Serena. She looked at it then turned her attention back to the darkness. Nathaniel grabbed elena's hand and drug her over. Damon looked to Eli.

"You said she wouldn't be involved."

"You asked if she'd be involved with the stone, and I said no, which was the truth."

"I won't hurt you." Nathaniel promised. He pulled a knife scaring her but he slit his own wrist and let a single drop fall onto the stone. As Nathaniel's blood was worth all three, vampire, werewolf, and witch, it worked as well as using all three.

Eli was speaking in an old language, it sounded like Latin. Stefan couldn't make out what he was saying, except he remembered that in Klaus' ritual he had to sacrifice one of each, so Nathaniel's blood must have been a symbol for that. Then he turned to Elena had carefully pricked her finger just enough for a drop then let her go and she ran back to Stefan.

Elijah was standing outside the house waiting and thinking. He looked up at the stars and the full moon, just looking since he didn't have anything else to do. When he put his hand in his pocket he felt what he had been keeping in his pockets for a thousand years. Usually he could ignore it, but after a day like that he couldn't. So he pulled his wedding ring out and looked at it for a minute before slipping it back onto his finger where it used to be, and surprisingly it still fit right.

"You've come a long way." Said a familiar voice and he looked over to see Elena in a long flowing white dress. No, it couldn't be Elena because she was inside the house.

"Katerina?" He asked. He hadn't seen her since he told her she couldn't leave the tomb before he died.

She walked up to him standing close enough she could stand up on her toes and kiss his cheek, then the other. She kept her eyes locked on his as she rested back on her feet again, but her hand stayed on his cheek. "Why so serious? What is so bad that your own wife can't get a smile out of you anymore?" She looked down at his hands as she held them and saw his ring, she kissed it. "I've lost you three times now, and I'm not letting you leave again, whether you like it or not."

"Mara?"

She smiled at him, then rose on her toes again to kiss him on the lips this time. "I missed you."

"How is this possible?"

"Take a walk with me and I'll explain everything." She led him back into the woods. It took a little while before he spoke.

"What did you mean three times?" She turned to look at him. "You said you lost me three times."

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what? The day I almost k - "

She cut him off putting her finger over his lips. "No, Elijah, not that. They killed you, twice. The first time I had hardly any time with you, then they killed you again and you came back to me, but only for a few days."

He realized now that she was talking about the afterlife, they had been together while he was dead, but only for a short time. "I thought I was dreaming."

"No, it wasn't a dream."

"What about this?" He asked. He still didn't understand how this was possible. He wondered if someone had murdered him in his sleep, or if he were merely dreaming.

"Alright, here sit down." They sat down together on a log. "Do you remember Josephina?"

"Nathaniel's mother." He said not understanding why she was important.

"When I found out what had happened to you, I went to her, and she cast a spell."

"What kind of spell?"

"Resurrection." She stated. "I asked her to bind my soul to yours. I knew that if you ever died it wasn't necessarily permanent; you could come back if the dagger was removed. So the spell was should you ever die and come back then so shall I."

"But how, Serena said your body was burned to ashes."

"I don't know how, but here I am. As long as you want me here, that is." He stood up not knowing what to do let alone say, and she could see right through it. He was hiding again, refusing to show emotion. "And there it goes." She sighed, making him look at her in wonder at what she meant. "Your guard's up again, like it was the entire eight years we were together."

"What do you want from me, Mara?"

She stood up in front of him putting her hands on his face. "I saw you with Serena. And what I saw was the man I married, the man who cared and stood for something. Niklaus tore him from me, and over the centuries he's been suffocated. I want that man more than anything, because I love him."

The curse was once again on the two of them, their werewolf side dormant. Nathaniel could now easily kill his father using magic. "Any last words?" He asked.

"See you in hell."

Nathaniel smirked. "No you won't."


	23. Posession

**Ok, I've decided to go on with it, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with it yet, though. **

**Chapter 23: Possession**

A storm was brewing in the sky above, they could all hear the thunder rolling in. Then they could see flashes in the clouds soon after. Klaus ignored it and charged at his son. Nathaniel didn't move, he stood his ground, and held up his hand. Suddenly lightning came down from the clouds above hitting Klaus and knocking him to the ground. Serena could see the lightning flash in Nathaniel's eyes, and smoke rise from Klaus's body. Slowly Klaus rolled onto his side and was hit again pushing him onto his stomach.

"You can't win this fight." Nathaniel stated. "I have more power than any witch who's ever lived, because the power of every descendent flows through me. With their dying breaths they bequeathed me their power, including my mother."

"Josephina." He said laughing to himself as if she were a joke in and of herself. He got to his feet chuckling. "The woman thought she was invincible."

"She was until she fell in love with you."

"Love _is_ weakness; she should never have succumbed to such a thing. I tried to save her by leaving, but it appears she was beyond help."

Angrily Nathaniel formed a ball of fire in his hand and threw it at his father sending him flipping through the air as his clothes were engulfed in the flame. When he landed he quickly took his jacket and shirt off before the fire spread. "Never." Nathaniel rasped. "Disgrace my mother."

"She disgraced herself." Klaus said angrily throwing his clothes onto the ground.

Anger took over him and he charged at his father tackling him to the ground and then began wailing on him punch after punch to the face, but Klaus did nothing but chuckle seeing the anger in his sons face which reminded him so much of himself. When he had enough he flipped them both over so he was leaning over his son. "You try so hard to be like her, to prove your nothing like me. If only you could see the hatred in your eyes."

"I am not you." Nathaniel said trying his hardest to control himself, but he was failing. He was so angry tears were beginning to form in his eyes.

"No one is like me, son, but you're closer than any. You have my blood flowing through you, you cannot escape it."

"I will never be like you." Nathaniel said loudly throwing Klaus off of himself. Klaus landed on the ground gracefully then waited for Nathaniel to come after him again, but instead he used magic again. He flailed his arm crossways and sent Klaus flying into a tree then he fell to the ground. Nathaniel was so angry he was breathing heavily and with every breath a growling noise escaped his throat.

Serena rushed over to him with worry. "Nathan, I beg you, calm yourself."

Nathaniel shook his head. "He's right." He whispered. "Alive or dead he lives through me as his blood flows inside me. I cannot escape him, because he's a part of me."

"But he's not all of you." She said loudly, cupping his face. "You are the son Josephina Li Volsi. You may resemble Klaus on the outside, but on the inside you are just like her. Just kill him and be done with the devil inside you forever."

Serena's words gave him one more boost in strength. He knew better than to let his father get to talking, but he did it anyway and he felt like an idiot for it. The dagger he had up his sleeve slid down his arm to his hand and he quickly threw it. Klaus was able to dodge it, but it distracted him enough for Nathaniel to tackle him again and grab a hold of him, then he threw him onto the pyre. He used magic to hold him down as he jumped down and set it on fire. Then he sent more lightning strikes down to hit Klaus continuously sending jolts of pain through his body as it convulsed and he tried his hardest not to scream. Nathaniel tried to hide that it hurt him as well as his hand went to his heart which was beating mile a minute and felt like it was going to pound through his chest. Serena began to cry seeing that Nathaniel was dying as his father was, but he didn't stop. He wanted his father to feel true pain before killing him. He was getting weak and fell to his knees holding his chest. Serena ran to him.

"Nathan."

Klaus was passing out and as he looked over he saw Josephina staring at him, he was surprised to see that she was crying though. He thought he'd see hatred, but she had always loved him for some unknown reason. For once in his life he felt a small sense of remorse for what he put her through. He knew now she had been waiting for him all this time and had come to take him away with her.

"Help me up." Nathan whispered and she did. He leaned over the burning pyre to see his father who was now unconscious, but he wasn't dead anyway. He looked to Serena for a moment and kissed her forehead. "In case it doesn't work and…"

"Don't." She begged.

"No, listen to me. I love you, all of you. And tell Ali…"

"I know."

He nodded then turned back to Klaus and quickly with one last breath punched through Klaus's chest and ripped his heart out. Serena held him as he fell unconscious and then their whole generation was standing around them. Alec came up behind her holding her as she cried. Eli and Noah were there kneeling beside them. They each cut their hand saying, "My blood, your blood…" and held onto each others, then Eli cut his other hand as well as Nathaniel's and held his hand too and said, "Our blood."

A jolt of power went through the three of them and like a wave they all felt it. Serena looked down at the necklace which was starting to turn red, it was waking up and she kept staring intently waiting for it to work. Finally it glowed red and Nathaniel jumped in her arms taking a breath and she smiled hugging him tightly.

"It worked." He whispered.

"It worked." She said relieved.

Nathaniel looked behind him and saw the ghost of his mother standing there happily with tears in her eyes. He knew she was finally at peace that their mission had been completed. She blew a kiss to him and then disappeared.

As they stood there they fall felt a wave of relief wash over them and they could all breathe easier knowing Klaus and his troubles were gone forever. Serena was happy that Luke was gone, she never really cared about Klaus's doings.

Except it all left them with one question on their minds: Now what? Serena looked to her grandfather and he could see that question in her eyes.

"I think it's time we decide our next move." Alexander answered speaking to everyone rather than just her. "We can't stay in this town."

"I'm not leaving." Serena said.

"That's fine, you and Alec may stay." He said surprising her. He nodded answering her question again. "You have my consent."

Happily she jumped up knowing Nathaniel could sit up on his own and ran to Alexander hugging him. "Thank you, Nonno."

"You deserve to be happy." He told her stroking her hair lovingly. Then he turned to Alec getting serious. "But you break her heart and I'll break every bone in your body."

"Yes sir." Alec said believing it.

"Milena." Alexander III said getting his daughter's attention. "I know in all this time you've never left Serena's side."

"I'll go with you papa." She agreed giving him a smile and he smiled back then hugged her. "But where?" She asked looking up at him.

"Home." He answered. It'd been a long time since she'd been back to Italy, for them it was like returning to a cemetery: painful. So they never went back, even though they should have to pay their respects to their human mothers and fathers. "For now. We can figure out the rest later."

"We'll go with you." Annemarie said taking her mother's hand. "Won't we mama?"

"I think we should all go home." Alexander said looking to all his children, except the one that was missing. "Where's Elijah?" He asked his wife.

She looked around quickly. "He was right here." She said.

"He went back to the house." Nicholas answered. "I'll go find him."

Elena looked to Stefan and Damon. "It's finally over." She whispered.

"Let's go home." Stefan said kissing her cheek. They both escorted her back to town.

When Nicholas made it to the house he looked around the downstairs and didn't find anyone. "Father?" He called aloud and didn't even hear a mouse. He rushed up the stairs and checked the rooms, but the house was still empty. He couldn't help but feel something was wrong. He felt the tattoo on his neck and it was warm meaning he was nearby, so where was he?

Then he heard something coming from the back door so he sped there. He stopped at the door, waited, then quickly flung it open ready for anything…except a woman who looked like his mother, and it wasn't Elena.

"Katerina." He said. "I wondered where you disappeared to."

"Nicholas." She breathed. "Non mi Katerina (I am not Katerina)."

He looked at her confused, but when he looked into her eyes there was a softness that Katerina never had.

Seeing the confusion she reached forward placing her hand on his cheek. "Innamorato. (Sweetheart)" She whispered.

Nicholas fell to his knees as the realization hit him of who was in front of him. "Madre?" He whispered and felt like he was going to faint. "Sto sognando? (Am I dreaming?)"

"No." She said getting down on her knees in front of him cupping his face. Knowing he wanted proof she told him something she used to tell him as a boy. "La notte è nato, è stato così freddo e la tempesta era così feroce, ma una volta che la vostra nonna vi ha messi in my arms ma la pace non c'era nulla. (The night you were born, it was so cold and the storm was so ferocious, but once your grandmother put you in my arms there was nothing but peace.)"

"Madre." He said again realizing it was really her and he hugged her tightly, like he would never let her go.

"Mio figlio (My son)."

"Ho perso lei (I've missed you)."

"Sh…" She soothed combing his hair with her fingers. He looked past her and saw his father standing in the doorway.

"How is this possible?" He asked his father and Mara turned to see her husband.

"I don't know." He admitted. "But it's definitely her."

"Her body was nothing but ash…"

"I know." Elijah said cutting him off. "Apparently your mother made a deal with Josephina before she died."

"A spell?"

Elijah nodded. "Should I ever come back from the dead, then so would she."

"So when they stabbed you with the dagger, then pulled it out…"

"Your mother was resurrected."

"But whose body is she in?"

As Nicholas asked the obvious question that had them both perplexed, Mara went into a spasm falling to the ground clutching her stomach.

"Mama." Nicholas said worried.

Elijah too went down on his knees holding his wife. "Mara…Mara, guarda a me (look at me)."

"Who's Mara?" Katherine asked groaning in pain as she clutched her stomach, then she let out a scream.

The two men looked at each other with wide eyes. Mara was possessing Katherine's body, and the two souls were at odds with each other fighting over dominance of the shell they both wanted.

"What do we do?" Nicholas asked his father.

Elijah was speechless, he didn't know what to do. His wife had finally come back to him, but she was possessing someone else, another woman he had fallen for. Of course, he wanted his wife to stay with him, but was it right? What would they do with Katerina? "We need a witch…Nathaniel, go get Nathaniel."

Nicholas listened to his father and took off running as fast as he could.

Elijah looked down to Mara who had gone still breathing heavily and sweating. "Mara?"

"Il mio amore (my love)." She whispered placing her hand on his face.

At least he hadn't lost her, he thought. "Ferma (hold on)." He whispered taking her hand in his and kissing it. "Non mi lasciare (Don't leave me)."

She smiled weakly before passing out from weakness. He picked her up and held her in his lap as he sat there on the cold floor with her waiting for the others. He'd lost her once, he'd be damned if he was going to let it happen again.

**I know it's kinda short, but like I said I don't really know yet, so be patient with me and let me know what you think…**


	24. Predator

**Chapter 24: Predator**

**Sorry it took a little bit to get this up, but I had to think of a new threat, and I think I found the perfect one. **

Serena and Alec came into the house last and were surprised to see a woman laying on the couch looking ill as she was sweaty and panting. What surprised Serena even more was to see her father holding the woman's hand, and that the woman was Katerina. Sebastian saw his sister walk into the room and came over to her.

"Before, you say anything – "

"What's Katerina doing here?" Serena asked snootily.

"Would you just listen?" He said getting impatient with her as always. "That is not Katerina. Would father be so close to her if it were?"

"Well, it's not Elena."

"It's Katerina's body, but it's not Katerina."

"Then who is it?" Serena asked thinking her brother was being ridiculous playing riddle games.

"You swear to not freak out?"

"Just tell me!" She blurted loudly.

"Mama." He said softly.

Serena froze for a moment like she was going to faint, and Alec put his hands on her waist protectively waiting for her to fall over. Then she surprised them by laughing. She wanted to believe her brother was joking.

"It's not funny." Sebastian said.

Serena stopped. "No, it's not. So tell me the truth."

"I am!"

"Sebastian!" They heard from the couch and they recognized the voice. Mara sat up with her husband's help and looked behind the couch to her twins. She summoned them both to come over with her finger. Serena didn't want to so Sebastian grabbed her hand and flung her over to the couch.

"Hey!" She said loudly disliking it. Sebastian just pointed to their mother so Serena would pay attention. "What?" She asked bluntly.

"Vieni e siediti con me (Come and sit with me)." Mara ordered.

"I don't take orders from you."

"Serena!" Elijah barked.

"No, il mio amore, è bene. (No, my love, it's alright.)" Seeing that speaking Italian wasn't going to get her anywhere like it did with Nicholas, she started speaking English again letting Katherine guide her in the language. As she possessed Katherine, she knew everything she knew, could see all her memories, and that's how she knew English. "Serena, please, come here."

"Why?"

"Must you be so difficult all the time? From the day you were born you were always fighting with me."

"Don't pretend to know me."

"Serena, it's madre." Nicholas said.

"No, it's not. It can't be. Mama is dead, she has been for a very, very long time." Serena wasn't going to play games that were only going to upset her so she took Alec's hand and turned around to head for the stairs.

With what strength she had left she stood from the couch. "Serena Eliza Nerva Petrova, come!" She ordered sternly.

Serena turned slowly to look over her shoulder. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, young lady. You do not walk away from me."

"You are not my mother!"

"Yes I am, and I can prove it!"

"I've had enough." She said lowly and turned again.

"200 solidi." Mara said, which got Serena to stop. Elijah looked at her with confusion, so Mara answered. "That was Lucretius' offer. That's the amount he promised to pay our family for your daughter's hand." (Note: the solidus was the last gold coin of the Romans and worth the most, I did the math and one coin would be worth like $7,975,000, so he pretty much paid over 1.5 billion dollars.)

Serena didn't even turn around, she put her hand out on the wall to hold herself up. She had never told anyone what Luke paid for her, not even Milena and Annemarie knew. Whenever they asked she just said more than anyone could ever have afforded, even their own grandfather. Alec was beside her and held onto her as well seeing her knees weaken. When he looked at her face he saw a tear roll down her cheek and he wiped it away with his thumb. Mara slowly walked over to her daughter with Elijah right beside her in case she fell, but she made it. She grabbed her daughter's arms turning her around and wiped the tears from her face then hugged her.

"Mama." Serena whispered.

"My baby."

"I'm sorry I'm such a pain."

"Sh…it's alright. You're your father's daughter, I couldn't expect anything less."

Elijah couldn't help but smirk at the comment.

Elena made it home to see Jeremy sleeping peacefully finally; it'd been a while since he could sleep. Stefan was with her and they went to her room quietly and laid down feeling relief and made love. Elena fell asleep, but Stefan laid there awake still feeling like it wasn't over. For as long as Klaus was alive there had to be someone else out there who was loyal to him and would come looking, Luke too, surely they had connections.

Meanwhile, Serena and Alec lay in bed together for the first time since being together again. Alec couldn't resist asking what was probably a stupid question coming from insecurity, but he wanted to know. "In the last two hundred years how many men have there been?"

"What kind of woman do you think I am?" She asked laughing somewhat at his ridiculousness knowing he didn't mean any offense by it.

"Well, it's not like you expected to see me again. I thought maybe you would've gone looking for someone to fill the emptiness."

"I gave up on that dream." She said her tone sad rather than upbeat and happy like it was a minute ago. "Nothing could ever begin to fill the vast emptiness your death caused…nothing except you." She said leaning up on her elbow to kiss him.

"I'm sorry I had to wait so long to tell you." He said softly pushing her hair back behind her ear. "I wanted to, the moment I realized I was alive I wanted to run to you, but Nicholas – "

"I know." She stopped him putting her hand over his mouth. "It's ok."

"Everyone leaves in the morning." He stated looking down as if he were thinking about doing something.

"Yeah…"

"There's something I want to do before they leave."

"I'm listening."

"A wedding."

Shock washed over her for a moment until it sunk in what he had just said. She shouldn't have been surprised really. "Are you asking me to marry you?"

"Of course I am."

Happily she climbed on top of him kissing and hugging him with a smile. He reached over to the bedside table and opened the drawer to pull out a small wooden box. It was old, she could see he had been carrying it with him since around the time he died.

"I bought this the night of the duel, hoping that I would win and could marry you right after, but fate had a different plan. At least, now after all this time it can still be of use." He said opening the small box to reveal a beautiful silver ring with a pearl and a curved line of diamonds on one side. She gasped putting her hand over her mouth. "Serena Eliza Nerva Petrova, will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me, and making me the happiest man on earth for all eternity?"

She was speechless as she nodded her head quickly answering him and watched as he slipped the ring onto her finger.

Downstairs Nicholas and Sebastian were sitting next to their mother who was lying back down on the couch, though she looked a little better.

"I don't understand." Sebastian said softly.

"The doppelganger must have served two purposes." Nicholas said. "Josephina had once joked about seeing the future, perhaps it wasn't a joke after all."

"Then why didn't she stop it?" Sebastian asked angrily.

"It couldn't have been stopped, dear one." Mara said taking her youngest son's hand.

"No, no that's not true. The future can always change."

"Every road leads to the same destination. Fate is unyielding." She explained to her sons. "Josephina could have told us what was going to come and eventually Lucretius would have had his way, he would never have given up his chase for your sister."

"She should have said something!" Sebastian blurted angrily, tears streaming down his face.

"She didn't want us to live our lives on the run and in fear. Sweetheart, I know you're thinking about your brother, we all miss him, and we all wish we could have saved him – " Leo, their second son, had killed himself after losing his wife and son in childbirth, he was only 18.

"Who said life has to be fair." Nicholas said grasping his little brother's shoulder.

They were interrupted as Serena came running down the stairs happily. "Guys!" She called.

Nicholas and Sebastian stood up and met her half way to see her smiling from ear to ear and teary eyed. They looked at each other confused as to what would make her so happy. They hadn't see her glow like that in a very, very long time, since they were children. "What?" They asked together impatiently waiting for her to say something. She just held out her hand to show them the new ring on her finger where Luke's had once been.

"Oh boy." Nicholas whispered looking to his grandfather who he thought was going to run upstairs in anger and rip the man's heart out.

Alexander must have read his mind because he stood from his chair and walked over to reassure his grandchildren. "It's alright, Nicholas, I am not going to murder anybody."

"But – "

"Alec and I have come to an understanding." He explained putting his hands in his pockets. "After everything Serena has been through, she deserves this chance to be happy, even if he is a werewolf."

She hugged her grandfather happily. "I love you, Nonno." She said kissing his cheek gratefully.

"I meant what I said, if he ever hurts you I will kill him."

"If I don't get to him first." Daniel said protectively. He still saw Serena as his baby girl and that wasn't ever going to change. If he could've had a piece of Luke he would've taken it.

"Well – " Serena said changing the subject. "We were hoping to do it right away."

"How soon is right away exactly?" Daniel asked.

"Tomorrow, before everyone leaves." She said. "It's not like we need a lot, so why waste time?"

"You're serious?" Nicholas asked.

"You think I'd be joking about something like this?"

"Well, no, but after everything that's happened tonight – I think you should at least give it a day."

"Everyone is leaving, Nicholas, and I want them to be here."

"She's right, Nicholas." Daniel said. "We should see it."

"Oh, you're doing more than watching, Papa." Serena said.

"Oh am I?"

"Yes, you are the man that raised me, the only father I've ever known, you really think you're getting out of giving me away, you have another thing coming."

"Sweetheart, I appreciate the honor, but – " He gestured towards his brother.

"No." Elijah said catching on. "You raised her; you're more of a father to her than I."

"Ok, here's my solution." She said. "You both do it. I do have two arms, after all."

The brothers looked at each other and nodded agreeing that that would work.

"Question." Milena budded in, as usual. "Who's going to do the ceremony? We don't exactly have a preacher in the family."

"Yes, we do. Nathan."

"Dad?" Noah said shocked at the idea. Noah didn't want his father to come, he rather enjoyed being away from home, he always did. He and his father didn't really see eye to eye. Nathan was a hard man to get along with sometimes, it was probably due to everything that happened over in Italy with his sister, Eli's mother. His sister's death left him alone with their aging parents, one of them sick and dying – she had died when Eli was only five, and then their grandfather died a few years ago.

"I think your father just needs a break, Noah. He's had a hard life."

"And I haven't?"

"I didn't say that." She said. "He just has a lot of pressure on him, he's head of the covenant there in Salem after your grandfather passed away, and Salem these days is more like the old rather than the new. It's no walk in the park."

"I live there, I know." Noah said harshly.

"I'll call him." Nathaniel agreed and left the room.

Stefan was sitting on the couch reading some more of the Johnathan Gilberts' diaries, wondering if he'd find anymore encounters of Johnathan's who might be possible threats. Towards the end of the book he was surprised when he came across one entry in particular.

Flashback

"_I approached the feeding creature thinking it a vampire with stake in hand." _

He walked around the corner of his house to see a body hunched over another on the ground. As he came closer there was a crunching sound and the creature looked up at him with eyes glowing red as fire.

" _Then it heard me as my foot broke a stick and it looked at me. No vampire I ever saw had eyes that glowed red in the dark."_

"Who's there?" He asked it and it stood up holding the dead body Johnathan recognized – his daughter. "Joanne." He whispered.

The creature, who looked like a man with long dark hair tied back in a pony tail and dressed in raggedy clothes that were centuries old and barefoot, looked down at the young woman in his arms and appeared to be remorseful for a moment.

"Let her go!" He ordered, which only angered the creature again. It sprouted large wings then took flight and was lost in the dark night sky.

_It stole my Joanne from me, my only daughter, and then flew away like a bird in the night sky. _

End of Flashback

She kept looking and it seemed he never had any clues as to what the strange creature was. She only found a list of names, all girls, who were found dead that summer, and only one who went missing – Miranda Forbes – she was only seventeen.

He remembered the string of murders that summer. Everyone thought it was vampires, and it was one of the events that helped form the Founder's Council to protect the town. It made sense really, since no other creature they knew of ever bothered them who drink human blood.

Elena came downstairs, she had had a nightmare and woke up. She sat beside him seeing the journal on the table and he seemed to be lost in thought.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just couldn't sleep."

"You were reading it." She stated. "What'd you find?"

"I was looking for other vampires that Johnathan may have known about, but I didn't find anything."

"Stefan, just tell me the truth. Something is bothering you."

Rather than explaining it to her he handed her the book which was already open to the page. She read the description of the creature and gasped.

"What?"

"I saw him."

"Who?"

"That creature he described, I saw him. He was in my dream."

"Tell me."

She set the book down and thought back on her nightmare. She remembered it being dark, she was surrounded by other girls, Caroline was there, Bonnie, and more. They all seemed to be glaring at her as she stared forward at the man standing there. He stood tall and proud, fierce like a warrior, and his eyes glowed red. She came forward to him like she was being pulled until she was only an inch away from him. He stared down at her, and for some reason she couldn't look away. Then his head lowered to her neck and she felt his hot breath on her skin. It was hot like fire, and then there was a sharp pain as he bit her. As soon as he bit her, though, the wound cauterized, burned itself closed leaving only a mark.

She put her hand to her neck to see if there was really a mark there, but she felt just her skin. "What if he's coming back?" She asked, which was a scary thought. He'd never heard of such a thing.

"Call Damon." He told her as he got up off the couch and ran upstairs to get his clothes. When he came back down she was standing there by the door waiting for him.

"Where are you going?"

"To ask our friends if they've ever heard of anything like this." He answered, then opened the door and saw Damon standing there. Elena let him in and he stayed there to protect her while Stefan went away.

"So, what's going on?" He asked. Elena hadn't really had time to explain while on the phone.


	25. Malleus Maleficarum

Chapter 25: Malleus Malleficarum

Elena was afraid to go back to sleep, but she was extremely tired as she sat there with Damon. She kept feeling her neck afraid that it had been real, but Damon had even checked it for her and said it was as soft as ever. She soon became curious though and ran to the bathroom to check the rest of her body to make sure it wasn't somewhere hidden. Satisfied her body was mark free she took a deep breath thinking she was going insane. She splashed some water on her face, and when she looked up into the mirror she saw not only herself looking back at her, but him as if he were right behind her.

"Damon!" She called and he kicked the door in.

When he looked around, though, there was nothing there. "What's wrong?"

"I saw him, I swear he was right behind me, I saw him in the mirror."

"Alright, come on." He said taking her hand and took her back out to the living room.

"I'm going insane." She whined as she sat back down on the couch. Damon wrapped his arm around her comfortingly and she pressed her face into his chest. "Don't let me fall asleep."

Meanwhile, Caroline was having a nightmare of her own. She was on her way to meet Matt at the Grille after his shift. She was walking through the alleyway towards the back and stopped as she heard a loud thud. She walked closer, slowly, until she heard Matt scream, then she ran around the corner. Matt was lying beside the dumpster, which had a large dent in it now, and another man was standing over him, killing him.

"No!" She cried getting the stranger's attention. He stood and she looked down to see Matt's lifeless body covered in his own blood. "Matt." She said softly as tears formed and she took a step forward, she wanted to go to him, but the stranger stopped her holding up his hand.

"Ah." He said. "Stay right there." His voice was deep, soothing, and soft like velvet. His long black hair was tied back into a pony tail. His eyes glowed red at first, then seemed to dull into such a dark brown that they were almost black. He stepped forward and she noticed he was barefoot. His long black slacks were wet at the bottom, and his black shirt was too from blood. His shirt was loose and open at the top with a string, it reminded her of Zorro's outfit. "I won't harm you." He promised as he stepped closer.

"Why did you kill him?" She asked still crying.

"Because you love him." He stated. "He'd get in my way."

"Your way of what?"

He was standing right in front of her now. His hand came up to brush against her cheek. "You're so beautiful, Caroline."

She tried to look away, but her eyes wouldn't move from his. His touch burned, but she couldn't move away from it. He was so beautiful. His skin was pale, like a vampire's, and smooth.

"What do you want?"

He just smirked without answering her. He leaned down to kiss her cheek, and she felt the burn. Then she woke up in her bed sweating and panting. She quickly turned her bedside lamp on and the room was clear. Her hand flew to her cheek, it was cold as usual.

Stefan sat down to talk to those of the second generation figuring they would know more than the others.

"You look extremely troubled, Stefan." Milena said without empathy. "More than usual anyway."

"Elena had a nightmare." He stated, his voice low with worry.

"You came here over a bad dream?" She asked.

"It's more than that." He argued. "It wasn't so much the dream as the man she saw in it."

"Who?" Annemarie asked curiously leaning forward in her seat.

"We don't know him." He reached behind himself to pull out the journal he had put in the waist of his pants. "But back in 1864 Johnathan Gilbert saw him too, just not in a dream."

"Alright, I'm listening." MIlena said now intrigued.

Stefan read the journal entry aloud and Serena and the other two girls exchanged looks which got the others' attention. The men seemed clueless.

"Oh boy." Annemarie sighed setting back into her seat. "Not again."

"What?" Sebastian and Nicholas asked together.

"We've seen him too." She answered.

"Marie!" Milena blurted. Apparently, that had been their little secret.

"If it's really him a lot of people – women – are in danger, Milena. We can't stay quiet."

"Who is he?" Stefan asked.

"It sounds like Lilu." Mara said surprising everyone. Serena looked at her mother confused as to how she would know him. They hadn't even known his true name for a long time.

"Mama, how do you know this?"

"Because like you three, he came for me when I was young." She answered. Elijah looked at her with a worried expression on his face, she had never told him. "Then I married your father and he left. But, he came back years later for you girls claiming if he couldn't have me then he'd have one of you. That's why I wanted you married, to save you from Lilu. Not for money as you believed."

"He comes after maidens only?" Stefan asked catching on.

"Not necessarily virgins, just unmarried women. Although, he's been known to make exceptions."

"Why did you let me think that?" Serena asked her mother upset with herself that she thought so badly of her mother for so long.

"The truth was too dark and disturbing. I didn't want you to live in fear of him as I did."

"So what is he exactly?" Stefan asked.

"Christanity calls him an Incubus." Serena answered.

Stefan knew the term, who didn't? He didn't want to believe it though, because he never actually believed they existed. He should've though, considering he himself was a creature that wasn't supposed to exist. "What does he want?"

"You have to ask?" Nathaniel asked budding in as he walked into the room.

"Nathaniel." Serena barked restraining her cousin. "Have you ever read the Malleus Maleficarum written by Heinrich Kramer in 1486, Stefan?"

"Yes actually."

"Do you remember the name Asmodeus?"

He shook his head not recalling.

"Asmodeus is one of the seven princes of Hell."Nathaniel explained budding in again, which he got a dirty look for but he ignored her. "There is one for every deadly sin and he is the prince of lust."

"I don't understand."

"Asmodeus bore two children with an unknown mother – some say it was Lilith, some a human, and some say they're just parts of himself - twins, a boy and a girl – Lilu and Lilitu." Serena explained.

"You know them as the Incubus and the Succubus." Nathaniel added.

"And now he's after Elena so he can bed her." Stefan sank into the chair knowing exactly what the Incubus wanted. He wiped his face frustrated.

"We don't know that yet. He seduces many women when he comes into an area, he makes them fall so madly in love with him that they fight each other for his affection. When he's had his fun he chooses only one of them and kills the rest making himself stronger."

"Or they kill each other for the sake of competition." Nathaniel added.

That explained why only one girl was missing that summer, why her body was never found, while all the other girls like poor Miranda Forbes was found dead.

By the time the sun came up Elena was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open. She stared out the window watching the sunrise. Stefan hadn't returned yet, and Damon was getting antsy. He was thirsty and hadn't brought any blood with him figuring he wouldn't be gone this long.

"Alright, that's it." He said coming back into the living room. "You're coming with me." He said trying to pick her up.

"NO, Damon." She argued pushing him away. "I'm not leaving Jeremy. He could be in danger too."

"Well, he's obviously not having nightmares, so I think he's safe."

"Damon."

Giving up he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Stefan's number. When he heard the click meaning Stefan had picked up he said, "What the hell is taking so long?"

"Things just got complicated."

"Like they weren't before." Damon said unimpressed. "Would you hurry up? I'm dying of thirst over here and Elena is nearly passed out."

"Don't let her fall asleep, Damon, I mean it."

"Since when is sleeping dangerous?"

"Since that's how he draws her in."

"Who?"

"I'll explain when I get there, just don't let her out of your sight." Stefan said then hung up in a hurry as he was standing outside the house. Meanwhile Eli and Noah were walking towards him after being out all night. "Well?" Stefan asked.

"If anything evil steps foot in this town we'll know it." Eli said.

"If only we could keep him out of their heads." Noah added as he walked past Stefan into the house.

"He can't harm her in a dream." Nathaniel promised patting Stefan on the back for reassurance.

"When will he come forher?" Stefan asked.

"It's hard to say. A couple days, three at the most. I can tell you this: the dreams will only get worse."

"How do you mean?"

"Through them is how he courts the women. It's how he gets them to let him in, to trust him."

"I thought Incubus' just crept up on you and took you while you were sleeping without permission." Stefan said.

"Well, he could, but honestly I think he does it for his old man." Nathaniel guessed, meaning Asmodeus. "The princes of Hell are known for wanting things from people, sacrifice and offerings to keep them at bay. I think giving into his children willingly, giving into the lust is the offering."

"What if they don't?"

"If Elena is truly the one he wants, and she won't give in to him, then the only way is as Mara said" Stefan turned his head to face him intrigued. "get married."

Caroline didn't know who else to run to so she showed up at Elena's house. Now they were sitting up in her room without Damon to have some girl talk.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked freaking out. "How is it we're having the same dream?"

Elena shook her head. "I said we saw the same man." She corrected. "I didn't see him kill Matt. What I saw was you and Bonnie arguing."

"About what?"

"Him."

"I actually wanted him?" Caroline said, it gave her the chills. "Although, I have to admit he is pretty hot." Caroline muttered, then once she realized what she said she put her hand over her mouth. "No, I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did." Elena said. "We both think it, because he wants us to think that. I just don't understand why." They heard a knock on the door and Elena thought it was Damon. She rolled her eyes saying, "Not now Damon."

But the door opened and it was Stefan. "Sorry to interrupt." He said.

"Stefan." She got up from her bed and hugged him. "Finally."

"We secured the town." He said. "If he comes we'll know." Then he noticed Caroline. "You had the nightmare too?"

"Well, not the same one, but he was in it."

"Did they know anything?" Damon asked from the doorway.

"You might want to sit." Stefan told her pushing her to the bed.

"Just tell me."

"Do you know what an Incubus is?"

"You're kidding." Damon said. "I thought that was just some horror story."

"We thought the same thing about vampires once upon a time too." Elena said. Damon had to give her that one.

"What is it?" Caroline asked.

"An Incubus is the male version." Damon said. "They…" He paused trying to think of a way to put it lightly.

"What?"

"You don't want to know." He sighed realizing there was no light way to put it.

Elena looked to Stefan waiting for an explanation, but he couldn't bring himself to say it either. "Here." He said handing her a book, the Malleus Maleficarm. "Read section one."

Serena woke Alec up to give him the bad news. "Morning, lover." She said trying to hide her emotions and pretend to be happy since they were supposed to be getting married today.

He didn't fall for it though. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "We can't get married, yet."

"Why not?" He asked thinking she were joking, so he played along.

"Because someone's coming and…"

His face went white and sullen. She wasn't joking. "And what?"

"You're going to hate me for this."

He sat on the edge of the bed taking her hand. "Serena, you're scaring me."

"I promise I will marry you, just not yet."

"That's not good enough." He pressed, harder than he'd meant to so he softened his voice. "I want a reason. Who's coming?"

"His name is Lilu, and he's – "

"Another man?" The sternness came back into his voice from jealousy. "You said there hasn't been another man since – "

"I didn't lie!" She yelled standing from the bed. "He came before you, _way _before you."

He wanted to smack himself for jumping to such a conclusion so quickly. He stood up putting his forehead to hers, whispering, "Serena, I'm sorry, I trust you, I do, I just don't understand."

"Lilu's a demon." She said turning away from him. "He – he came to me when I was a teenager, back when I was living with my grandparents."

"A demon?"

She nodded. "He chose me."

"Chose you for what?"

"It doesn't matter." She said wiping her teary eyes. "What matters is that he's coming back and I am the only one who can protect Elena from him. You cannot tell anyone about this, especially my mother. She'll die if she knows I'm having anything to do with him."

"I promise."

She began to cry feeling ashamed and guilty. "Luke was the only thing keeping him away from me. Now that he's gone, Lilu will want me while I'm unwed."

"Then why aren't we getting married?" He asked not understanding her logic. "You don't want him right?"

"Of course I don't! But I can't let him get to Elena. He obviously doesn't know I'm here or else I would've had the dream too. So maybe if he sees me I can draw his attention away from Elena."

"You're going to be bait?"

"I have to protect her from herself. She will fall in love with him as I did, as every woman does, and even if she does reject him she can't win. Rejecting him will only make him angry and he'll take her by force if he has to."

"Did he have you?" He asked curiously, more out of concern than anything. Also jealousy, though he tried to hide it.

She shook her head. "I married Luke before he got the chance."

He sighed thanking God for that, but that didn't mean it couldn't still happen. "I can't change your mind, can I?"

"No."

"Will you give into him? If it were the only way to save Elena would you give yourself to him?"

She looked at him. "I honestly don't know." She whimpered and he hugged her to comfort her. She was afraid, he'd never seen her so afraid of someone in her life, not even Luke or Klaus. She could stand up to them, she had control of herself. So it was fear of herself more than fear of him. Her mother had saved her last time, she wasn't entirely sure she could save herself.


	26. Scapegoat

Chapter 26: Scapegoat

I do not own the Vampire Diaries. Sorry for the delay, I had writer's block. I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter, , so let me know what you think.

Bonnie decided to go the Elena's house just to be with someone and find something to do to keep her awake. Bonnie had had a dream too. In her dream, she was in a dark place, surrounded by candles, as if she were going to perform a spell. Except when she looked around she saw other women sitting in a circle swaying together and chanting. She didn't know what they were saying, but it couldn't have been good. She looked to the middle and saw him with a smirk plastered on his face and his arms stretched out. It was like he was bathing in their love, and it was regenerating him. He was shirtless, and she could see all the markings on his skin, which she had never seen before, almost tribal looking. And she also saw his wings which were fluttering as they tried to expand, like something was holding them down or if they were broken. They looked like dragon's wings…evil. He had paid no mind to her, which made her wonder what the point in the dream was. The dreams Caroline and Elena had were seductive, so why was she different? Was it just because she was a witch? So he showed her a spell.

She walked into Elena's house and didn't find Elena. She found Jeremy on the couch reading a book. "What's that?" Bonnie asked him leaning over the back of the couch. He closed it over his finger to show her the front. Her eyes went big when she saw the title. Her grams had told her about that book. She quickly sat beside him and snatched it from him. "Where did you get this?" She asked.

"It was laying here when I got up."

"Where did Elena get it?"

"I don't know. Bonnie what's wrong?"

"Do you know what this is?"

"No."

"This book – " She was stopped as they both heard Elena scream from upstairs. They quickly forgot the book to run to Elena's room. She was squirming and crying on the bed as if she couldn't move and was still asleep. Bonnie quickly rushed over to her, but Jeremy was frozen in place, because he could see what who was holding Elena down.

"Jeremy help me." Bonnie pleaded as she shook Elena, which was hard. Bonnie could feel her being held down. She looked over her shoulder to see Jeremy frozen. "Jer?"

The woman he saw smiled at him and got off of Elena to walk to him. He tried to back away but the beautiful ghost in front of him, at least he figured that's what she was since he was the only one who could see her. She had long dark hair straightened out that hung over her should down to her hip. She wore a dress that was tattered and dirty on the bottom and she was barefoot. Her hand came to his face and it felt hot, but he couldn't turn away from the pain. "Jeremy." She whispered now knowing what his name was.

"Jeremy!" Bonnie called louder.

He jumped hearing her yell at him and blinked coming back to focus and she was gone. He rushed over to Elena to wake her up shaking her with Bonnie. Elena finally came to jumping up into a sitting position breathing heavily and covered in sweat.

Noah came walking downstairs throwing a bag over his shoulder. Serena noticed and stood at the bottom. "Where are you going?" She asked curiously, and also in a motherly tone.

"Elena's house, I have a funny feeling something happened."

"I see. And what do you think happened?"

"I'm not crazy Aunt Serena."

"I didn't say you were, I'm just curious because you seem to be the only one with this feeling. Eli put up that barrier around town, if he comes in we'll know."

"It's not him. It's someone else."

"Someone?"

"I don't know who, I just…I can feel her in here."

"Oh so it's a woman."

"Eli feels her too. I told him I'm going and he thinks it's a good idea."

"Alright." She agreed, she wasn't going to stop him from following his intuition, it was rarely wrong. "Just be careful." He walked out the door and Serena turned to look at Nathaniel standing behind her. "You know who it is don't you?"

Nathaniel was a much stronger witch than his descendents, there was hardly anything that got past him. Usually when he had an intuition he knew exactly what it was, or who. He didn't answer though, just turned around and went back into the living room with his book. She was curious, but there was always Eli.

Nathaniel looked to Mara who was still lying on the couch exhausted and weak. Elijah hadn't left her side, not once. Mara wanted to sleep, but she was afraid to. If she did, he would surely find her.

"What was he talking about?" Elijah asked him keeping his eyes on his wife.

Nathaniel looked up unsure if Elijah was talking to him or not. Then he turned to face him waiting for an answer. Nathaniel shrugged pretending to unsure of what he meant.

"Who's here, Nathaniel?"

"Don't concern yourself; she's not a threat at the moment." He said leaning back into his chair.

Elena sat with the girls in her room recovering from her nightmare. Bonnie was curious as to what Jeremy saw, but she stayed focused on Elena giving her a glass of water.

"It was – " She paused taking a drink. Her hands were still shaking. "It was worse than the first one."

"It's ok." Bonnie said. "You're safe now."

"Am I?" She asked unconvinced. "He may only be able to get to us in our dreams now, but what about tomorrow? Or the day after? What will happen when he does?"

"Nothing." Bonnie said. "I won't let him."

"I don't think even you can fight him, Bonnie." Elena said. Elena knew what he was now, Stefan had filled her in and she had read the book like he told her. Lilu wasn't in the book, but their father Asmodeus was. They didn't see the point in reading it.

"What did you see?" She asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Elena said with tears forming in her eyes.

They heard a knock downstairs and Jeremy went to answer it. When he opened the door and saw Noah, he didn't know who it was.

"Jeremy, right?" Noah guessed. "I'm Noah."

Jeremy had heard the name from Elena so he let Noah in. "Now's not really a good time."

Noah looked into Jeremy's eyes and noticed that he was still jittery. They still showed fear. Then the pain in Noah's chest got stronger and he could sense that she had been there. "You saw her didn't you?"

"Who?"

"You can't lie to me, Jeremy. I know she was here."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"Fine, pretend all you want." Noah said giving up not wanting to argue over it. "I just hope you realized it was real, and not some hallucination." He added throwing his bag back over his shoulder and headed upstairs knowing that's where Elena was. He knew now that his instincts had been right and there was something going on there. He knocked on the door announcing himself. "It's Noah."

"Noah? What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain actually."

"Alright, come in."

Noah left the door open as he came in and stood at the foot of the bed letting his heavy duffle bag fall.

"What's in there?" Bonnie asked. Was he ready to fight a battle?

"You know for a witch, you're not very precautious." Noah pointed out noticing that she never carried supplies with her. Perhaps, it was the difference in how they grew up. Bonnie had grown up not knowing what she was and in a safe little town, whereas he was raised to be a fighter in Salem where witches fought for their safety every day.

"I don't need all that, just my powers." Bonnie said.

Noah laughed out loud. "You're naïve, is what you are. You don't know the things that are out there, that want to kill us, or eat us, or God knows what. Magic should always be your last resort – spells weaken you." He stated, then turned back to Elena. "I take it you ahd another nightmare."

"Yeah."

"Has he gotten to third base yet?"

Elena looked at him angrily, she didn't appreciate such a inappropriate question. It was too forward for someone she barely knew.

"Sorry, but it's important to know how far the dreams get. As long as he hasn't gotten that far yet, then you're safe, but once he does…"

"What?"

"Then it's too late."

Serena went downstairs to find Eli sitting on one of the beds. He went down there to get away from everyone and their thoughts so he could think clearly. She sat on the bed across from him watching him for a moment as he ignored her. He was sitting on it Indian style with his head down and his cross necklace in hand.

"Who is she?" Serena asked bringing Eli back to reality. He wasn't pleased about being interrupted, but it was her. He cocked his head sideways. "Don't play coy. You and Noah seem to feel someone, so who is she?"

"He told you."

"He didn't really have a choice, I beat him to the door."

"I'm not sure who she is, that's what I was trying to find out until you interrupted me."

"I see. Well let me know when you figure it out." She said getting up from the bed to leave.

"Aunt Serena." He said stopping her before she got past the bars. She turned around. "I put an alarm up to know when _he_ came in, but not her."

Then Serena realized who she was – Lilitu, the succubus. "Oh god." She whispered. "He knows, so he's sent her in to do his dirty work."

"He won't come in until it's time to do the taking." Eli said.

Noah pulled out a book from his bag, a rather large one, larger than the other one. "I know you didn't understand the other one, so try this one. My aunt probably didn't give it to you because she didn't want to give away too much information, but I think you deserve to know what you're up against. Even if it is…" He paused looking for the right word. "disturbing."

"What is it?" Bonnie asked.

"Spina's Classification of Demons from 1467. You'll find the twins in there."

"Twins?" Bonnie asked. She hadn't been told about them yet.

"Oh, the um, the incubus and the succubus. Lilu and Lilitu. They didn't tell you?"

"No, sorry." Elena said. "Didn't get the chance. I was going to."

"It's ok. What do they have to do with the witch's hammer?" She asked referring to the other book, which was its name in English.

"Asmodeus is their father. I think the reason Aunt Serena wanted you to read that was to see the faults in it. Witches weren't born from affairs with Satan, they were born from Asmodeus's twins. When they mate with a human the offspring are witches."

"Are you telling me that my ancestor is one of these things."

"Unfortunately. I know how you feel, I'm a warlock remember."

"Oh god." Bonnie whispered. She was going to be sick. "Is that why he didn't try to, you know, in my dream?"

"Probably. Their whole goal is to fill the world with their offspring, so it'd be pointless to mate with you."

"So what did you see then?" Jeremy asked Bonnie curiously.

"I saw him surrounded by witches, and it was like they were healing him or strengthening him."

"That's not good." Noah said. "That means he's getting pumped up to come here and do his dirty work."

"So then how long do we have?" Elena asked.

"It's hard to say. Two days, maybe less."


	27. Sing Me a Song

**Chapter 27: Sing me a song**

**Let me know what you think**

Noah brought them back to the estate thinking the house unsafe. They were surprised to see the estate practically empty. In the meantime, while all this was going on, the family decided to leave. They wanted to go home. Milena and Annemarie had gone too with their parents, they all got on the first plane to Italy. They did promise, though, to be back for the wedding, when it happened. Elijah was the only one who stayed refusing to leave Mara given her condition. Nathaniel stayed because Eli and Noah were there, also because Italy was too painful for him. He'd lost too much over there: his mother, Eli's mother, and many other descendents whom he'd grown to love, as well as many friends. Serena was afraid to go back too, but she knew she had to at some point. Even though her mother was here now, her brother was still there and she needed to pay her brother and sister were still there.

"Where is everyone?" Elena asked Serena.

"They went home for the time being. They have many dead brothers and sisters, and husbands and wives to pay respects to."

"So you saw her?" Nathaniel asked changing the conversation and getting down to business.

"Not I." Noah said pointing to himself, then pointed to the teenage boy next to him. "Jeremy did."

"You sure it was her?" Nathaniel asked.

Noah looked to Jeremy telling him to speak so he repeated his description of the woman he'd seen. "She had long black hair, pale skin, flawless except for the scars, and it was covered in thin tribal tattoos."

"What color were her eyes?"

"I don't know." Jeremy stammered. He saw brown, but he could've sworn they blazed red for a moment, but that couldn't be.

"What does it matter, it's her." Noah said impatiently.

"Not necessarily. If her eyes weren't red it could be someone else." Nathaniel argued loudly, pressing Jeremy for the answer.

"Like who?" Noah asked smartly.

"Lilith." Serena answered. "Their mother. She has the markings too, they're Mesopotamian."

"And you really expect me to believe that I descend from all this?" Bonnie asked. "Witches are not evil, we serve nature, not the devil."

"We know that, Bonnie." Serena said trying to calm her. "Witches were never meant to be evil. Lilu has nothing to do with his children, nor does she. They don't care. They don't care if the union ends in pregnancy or not, they only care about the sex, that's what feeds them, and the lust created from it is what feeds their father. They do it for him."

"Back when witches were young." Nathaniel started getting everyone's attention. "There was a war. My mother told me that it was over those who wished to serve Satan and those who wished to serve nature. Satan's army lost, and ever since witches have always served the greater good. Of course there is always going to be someone who turns bad out of greed or whatnot." Nathaniel explained.

"So, he did want us?" Bonnie asked.

"Satan wanted witches on his side, yes because they're powerful like angels and demons but can live among humans. He wanted to use them to bring humanity down, but his plan failed, and they turned against him."

"Why'd he give up?"

"Witches have too much influence over all things supernatural, he knew no matter what monsters he sent after them he'd lose. The only thing a witch can't harm is an angel."

"Angels are real?" Jeremy asked budding in.

Nathaniel ignored him and Serena tried not to laugh. After everything they'd been through he didn't believe in angels.

Stefan decided it was time Rick knew what was going on. Maybe they could use his researching skills. He was trying to find a way to kill Lilu if at all possible, or at least fight against him. Stefan met him at the Grill for a drink, Rick had been spending a lot of time there since Jenna died. He reminded him of Damon who tried to drink away everything he hated about the world.

"Hey Rick." Stefan said announcing himself as he sat beside him.

"What's up?"

"Same as usual, someone's after Elena."

"Very funny." Rick said thinking it was a joke, after all he was drunk so he wasn't thinking clearly.

"I mean it Alaric."

"But Klaus is gone, who else is there?"

"It's more of a what than a who." Stefan said.

"Beg pardon?"

Stefan leaned forward and asked softly to prevent anyone from hearing. "What do you know about an Incubus?"

Alaric spit his drink out on the table hearing the word. He quickly picked up a napkin to clean it off, luckily none of it had gotten on Stefan. Maybe a little on his face which he wiped with his hand. "Sorry." Alaric said softly. "Did you really just say what I think you said?"

"An Incubus is after the girls in this town, including Elena. Right now he's only in their dreams, but eventually he'll be here to start doing some real damage. Now I've seen what this guy can do before, back in 1864 a lot of girls died, and one went missing."

"And you think that's what's going to happen?"

"I know that's what's going to happen. And I'm not the only one."

"Let me guess, your new Original friends told you all this?"

"They told us what he was, yeah."

Rick sighed trying to remember what he'd read about them before. "It's a demon, Stefan. Essentially a spirit, we can't kill something like that."

"There has to be a way. I thought demons could be exorcized, send him back to Hell."

"From what I've heard they don't respond to exorcisms, they laugh at you when you try."

"Where did you hear that?"

"From a priest." He answered. "Isobel claimed she saw a demon at the foot of the bed one night – a man. Then a couple nights later she couldn't move, like she was being held down and she felt like he was – " Rick stopped unable to talk about it and covered his face as he breathed heavily and fought back the emotions.

"He came after Isobel?"

Rick nodded. "That was what got her hooked on the supernatural. We weren't even married yet when that happened. We went to the local priest and he said an Incubus is nearly impossible to get rid of."

"There has to be a way." Stefan said not wanting to believe that he was only going to leave after he got what he wanted.

Damon was with his girlfriend again, and she seemed distraught as she came into the house. He grabbed her face making her look at him. "You alright?"

"I'm Fine." She promised. "Just tired."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I didn't sleep very well last night."

Damon had a feeling why she didn't sleep well the night before, but he didn't say anything about it. He didn't want to frighten her.

"I think maybe because of work." She said surprising him.

"Why's that?"

"You didn't hear?"

HE shook his head. "What?"

"They found two guys dead this morning. They were in bed sleeping and just never woke up."

Damon was speechless. He thought they only had the Incubus to deal with, and he only went after women, not men too. "I'll be right back." He went into the other room to call Elena and make sure she was alright.

"Yes Damon?" She said answering her phone.

"Have you seen the news?"

"No, why?"

"You might want to."

She turned the tv on in the living room and she and Bonnie watched it for a minute before the two dead guys came on. They had lived next door to each other and both died in their sleep. Only an autopsy would tell how they died.

Alaric decided to go see the local priest hoping this one would be of more help than the last. It'd been a long time since he'd set foot in a church.

"Can I help you, my son?" The father asked seeing Rick coming down the aisle. The priest was an old man, gray and balding on top of his head.

"I'm not sure actually, Father." Rick said scratching his head as he came to stand before him. There were people praying there in the pews. "Father, is there somewhere we can talk privately?"

"Of course." He said and took Rick to his confessional.

"Do you have a confession?"

"None that I'm ready to divulge just yet." Alaric answered as he sat down. "I came to ask for help."

"Well, I'm always here to help the best I can."

"With a demon." Alaric added getting the Father's full attention.

"I see." He sighed unpleasantly. "It's been a long time since I've heard of a demon in these parts, unless you mean those that the Founder's fear."

"No, I don't mean vampires. I mean an Incubus."

"Oh, I see. Come, we'll talk in my library." He led Rick to the upstairs of the church where he made himself at home. The other priests and the nuns quarters' were downstairs. "I know of only one thing that can protect against such an evil."

"Let me guess, an angel?"

"Yes, but that is not what I meant, for angels protect us from all evils. It's not a very well known legend, for they have no place in the bible, or any Christian literature. However, in the 17th Century some Jesuits argued that they existed." He pulled another book down from the shelf, a very dusty one which had obviously hardly ever been opened before. He blew the dust from it and searched the pages. "They wrote this." He added. ""her glance is that of the fabled basilisk, her voice a siren's voice—with her voice she enchants, with her beauty she deprives of reason—voice and sight alike deal destruction and death." He read.

"A Siren?" Alaric asked trying to make sense of where he was going with this.

"A Siren's voice is said to be so powerful it can destroy anything, or at least weaken it through enchantment. Possibly even control it. However, there is no proof."

"There's no surefire way to kill this thing?"

"No. It's a spirit, not corporeal, therefore it cannot be killed except by an angel or the Devil himself who is himself an angel. Some believe that an Incubus is a fallen angel as well, one of those who followed Lucifer from Heaven, others believe it's nothing more than a demon."

"I heard from a friend that he goes by the name Lilu and is the twin brother of Succubus Lilitu, and son of Asmodeus and Lilith."

"I have only ever heard that story once in my life." He said sounding surprised that Rick knew such a thing. "Many believe there is more than one, so they have no name, or that Lilu can be a man or woman all in the same body. And Lilitu is sometimes Lilith's name. It's hard to know the truth."

"Back in 1864 many girls died in their sleep in this town and they blamed it on some epidemic."

"Yes, I remember reading about that."

"It was Lilu. And now he's back, Father, help me stop him."'

"My son, this demon fears nothing I can do."

Alaric nodded and bowed his head thanking him then turned to leave. But, when he got to the door he stopped and turned as something popped in his head. "One last question, Father." The priest stood at attention waiting patiently. "If he's a spirit, how can he, you know, do what he does?"

"Well, majority of myths say he does it while the woman is sleeping, that it's only a dream. However, there are myths that he uses human flesh to make himself a body, or he embodies another."

"So, would you say that's a reasonable explanation for why he kills the other girls? For their flesh?"

"It's possible." He said.

"Thank you, Father." Rick said with a smile on his face.

Stefan got back to the house to see Damon. Elena had told him what happened. "How are we supposed to protect Jeremy too?" Damon asked Stefan as he walked into the room.

"I don't know." Stefan sighed sitting down.

"They're not safe in that house."

"They're not safe in any house, Damon. Those things don't need an invitation like we do."

"There has to be something we can do to keep them safe."

Damon paced the room for the moment. "We have to leave town."


	28. Remembrance

**Chapter 28: Remembrance  
>This has a lot of family history, maybe a little boring, but it will add up later. <strong>

**Sorry it took so long…writer's block sucks. **

_Bulgaria 1490_

Katerina was lying in the grass in a nearby field watching the stars. She was startled when she heard a stick crack from behind her and she jumped sitting up. She waited until she heard something again and called into the dark. "Hello?" She said hoping it was just someone passing through, like a patrolman or something. "Who's there?" She called louder when there was no answer. She quickly became frightened and stood up to run away. She kept running looking behind her for any followers, until someone caught her. She screamed as she ran into him.

"Katerina." He said softly trying to calm her. "Katerina, sh…It's alright."

She looked up at the familiar voice and recognized her father's stable boy, Marko. "Marko." She sighed relieved to see a friendly face. Then he looked at her confused at hearing the name she spoke, which confused her.

Then a flash of realization went across his face and he smiled. "Marko." He chuckled. "He loves you, you know?" He said softly as if it amused him. "I can feel it."

"Who are you?"

"Oh, come now Katerina, don't tell me you don't recognize me." He said as his eyes flashed red.

Her eyes opened wide as she recognized those unmistakable eyes. "You." She whispered. "But, you're not real, you were a dream."

"As you can see I'm more than that." He caressed her cheek sending the same warm sensation through her skin as it had in her dreams. She felt her heart stop and her breath caught in her throat, and even as her chest started hurting she couldn't make her lungs work. "You're so beautiful."

"Wh – what –" She stammered trying to make her voice work. He leaned in closer to hear her since her voice was just a soft whisper. "Your name?"

He smirked amused that she was obviously under his spell. "It's not important." He answered. "The only thing that _is_ important is that you love me. Do you love me Katerina?" His face was only an inch away from hers waiting for permission to get as close as possible.

She nodded slowly and whispered, "Yes." Then she felt his lips crush hers. That was all he needed and she belonged to him for the rest of the night.

Katherine woke up from her dream panting. Elijah was still right there and he grabbed her - thinking it was still his wife - to comfort her. She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Don't touch me, Elijah."

"Katerina?"

"In the flesh." She said proudly as usual. "This is _my_ body, in case you forgot." She added snootily.

"You're the doppelganger, it had to be you." He explained.

"What about precious Elena?"

"She's still among the living." He stated. Apparently, that was the reason for there being more than one, the dead one was for Mara to come back to life while the living one was to be used for Klaus. It was amazing really, the kind of foresight Josephina had had to plan it all the way she did.

"My soul is obviously intact."

"It's complicated."

Meanwhile Serena was on the phone with Annemarie who was standing in the old family cemetery behind the old estate in Northern Italy. The mansion was where the seven of them had grown up and behind the house was a large backyard and then beyond that was the cemetery surrounded by woods. Someone had obviously done their job in taking care of it – Joshua, one of their descendents who was granted the mansion to live in as long as he promised to make sure the land wasn't ruined.

"I wish you were here Serena." Annemarie said looking around at all graves and the tombs, and in the back was the mausoleum where their ancestors were entombed underground. "It hasn't changed."

"Oh, I'm sure it has." She sighed. "It's only a bunch of rocks, they degrade over time."

"Serena." Annemarie said surprised that she would say such a disrespectful thing.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's ok." Annemarie said and walked over to a specific gravestone. _Leonardo Demetrius Petrova Nerva, Beloved Son and Husband. _"He's here you know. They moved him for you."

"I know." She said trying to hide her sadness for her older brother's early and tragic demise. It was never easy knowing someone you loved killed themselves because you couldn't save them.

Right beside Leonardo was his wife (Eva), and Mona and her husband (Andrian), then all of Mona's children. The others were buried in Bulgaria until Katherine's time. Then her daughter was given away to Serena of all people and she was taken to France. So there were some there in another mausoleum underneath Serena and Luke's mansion. Then they moved to the New World and the rest were buried there in the States. Annemarie knelt down and placed flowers on them. "Mona was the lucky one." Annemarie stated looking at her gravestone which looked like an angel ready to take flight. That was Serena's idea, she thought of her sister as the angel of the family who got to actually fly away to Heaven unlike the rest of them. _Mona Angela Nerva Maleeva, Beloved Wife and Mother_. Then down the line Annemarie walked looking at all her children: _Elijah Alexander III (_Nicholas' son was the second), the twins _Anzhelo Ognyan _and _Angelica Mara_, _Damyan Marcus_, and _Andrian Nikola II_. Annemarie read them off for her and it made Serena tear up. She remembered attending those funerals, the twins died young, which broke Mona's heart, her only daughter gone at only four years old from illness. Elijah had gotten it too, but he survived as he was older and stronger. Then Andrian died when he was thirteen, he fell from a building. Damyan wanted to be a vampire, he didn't want to live just to die like everyone else, but they refused. Her sister knew about them, they had gone to her after they "died" and stayed with her even after it was obvious they weren't aging. Mona never cared, neither did Andrian or the children. So instead Damyan went off to war and was killed at twenty years old leaving a pregnant wife behind. Elijah was the only one who grew up and raised a family. Serena was happy they were all together again resting in peace. She missed them all dearly. Serena fell onto the staircase crying.

"Oh, honey I'm sorry." Annemarie said hearing her cry.

"No, it's not your fault."

"You alright?" Sebastian asked as he came down the stairs from hearing her cry. Serena handed him the phone. "Hello?" He asked wondering who was on the other line.

"It's me, I did it." Annemarie confessed.

"Oh, did what?"

"I made her cry. We're at the Nonno's house in the cemetery and – "

"I get it." He said not needing her to go on.

"I'll let you go so you can comfort her."

"Alright, talk to you later." He hung up and knelt down to comfort his sister.

Meanwhile Annemarie walked over to where her mother was standing and crying softly to herself. She had found her husband Hector and her lost babies, all of Annemarie's younger brothers: Arthur, Aden, Baine, and Declan. Aden and Declan were the ones who got away that night when Luke came to kill them. Arthur felt it was his duty as the oldest to fight for them alongside his father, which he did and ordered Aden to take the others and run. Baine and Annemarie got caught, he sacrificed himself to save his sister and was killed, but she was too anyway.

Not far from them was where Milena was standing with her father. Alex held her against him as she rested her head against his chest crying looking at the statue of her mother in her wedding dress and veil that Alex had made for her. It looked exactly like her. Then there were his other children, Milena was third, it went Alexander IV, Andrea, Milena, Anne II, Mikhail, and Matthias.

Elise and her son Dorian were standing with Cathandra, those two families were next to each other since they weren't very big. Dorian had been an only child so the only grave for them was his father, Dorian III. Cathandra had her husband, Andreas, and two boys, Aaron and Ethan. Aaron survived, and Ethan died in battle in his mid twenties leaving behind a wife, son and daughter.

Elena and Stefan went out for the day, just to get away. Elena was exhausted, and he hoped doing something would keep her awake. There was a fair in town, so there was plenty to see and do… Or at least there should have been. When they came up to the fairgrounds it looked eerie to say the least. It wasn't deserted or wrecked, it was crowded and neat, but the people that crowded it were all silent and staring at the woman who stood up high on top one of the rides. The men were hypnotized, and the women – like Elena – looked around bewildered at the men. They yelled and pulled at their husbands and boyfriends trying to get their attention.

"Stefan, what's going on?" Elena asked as she started to get worried and frightened looking at the beautiful woman who was now coming back to the ground.

"Finally." She said with open arms. "The guest of honor has arrived." Her eyes were on Stefan who swallowed hard as he felt her intensity and he was being drawn to her. He fought it as hard as he could, but it was no easy feat. She looked at him with a bright smile as her hand caressed his face. "Gorgeous, isn't he?" She asked looking to Elena. "Too bad you're dead and would be of no use to me. However – " She added, her voice chiming like a bell. "We could still have some fun."

"Get your hands off him." Elena said sternly. It caught the woman - who Elena guessed was Lilitu, the Succubus - off guard. "You heard me, let him go."

"You think you – a miserable little human – can command me? How cute."

"As you said, he'd be of no use to you."

"Yes, but my brother would like him out of the way, so I think I shall take him with me anyways and just have some fun with him."

"No."

Lilitu's eyes flashed red fire and she grasped Elena's neck with her free hand, squeezing it until Elena could hardly breathe. "No more games." She rasped angrily. "I'm taking the vampire –" she added then softened her voice sounding very persuasive "and you are going to fall asleep and welcome my brother with open arms." Then she released Elena making her fall to the ground and when she looked up they were gone. Not only that but the men seemed back to normal, and now the women were the ones who were acting strangely fanning themselves and feeling their forehead as if they felt faint. Elena felt warm herself – feverish really as she felt her own forehead. Then she felt worn down and tired. Soon she couldn't fight anymore and collapsed to the ground to fall asleep.

Serena looked to Katherine as she circled around her studying her. Frankly, Katherine didn't like being looked at like a guinea pig.

"Where's my mother?"

"Oh, she's still in here, but I want her out."

"That's not going to happen." Serena said stopping to stand in front of her eyeing her down.

"I want my freedom, I'll do anything."

"I'm sure you would, but the fact of the matter is that we care much more about my mother's soul than we do your selfish one."

"Besides, the only reason you want to be free of our mother is to be free of him." Sebastian added knowing fully well that Katherine/their mother was having nightmares just like all the other women. Lilu's infatuation with their mother made Katherine a target, just like it did Elena. Plus, they all knew that Lilu was the father of Katherine's daughter, the one that Serena raised.

"You're Serena? The Original who raised my daughter."

"I am." Serena said proudly. She would always see Mira as her own.

"Why did you take her away from me?"

"I didn't. Your father did. And I raised her so that she was with family and could grow up to know who she was and where she came from."

Katherine nodded. The truth was that she was grateful for what Serena did for her daughter, that she didn't have to live in a lie like other adopted children. She wondered though, if Serena knew about the affair which created the girl. Serena could see the wheels turning. "Do you know who her father was?" Katherine asked raising her eyes to look up at her.

"Yes." Serena stated. "And he's back."

"That's why I want my freedom, so I can leave Mystic Falls again before he gets here."

"No." Serena said sternly. They were not going to release their mother, if anything they would release Katherine from her own body to let their mother stay. Surely, Katherine could figure that out.

"So you're going to make me a prisoner in my own body for the rest of eternity?"

"No, we're going to release you after we're free of Lilu."

"I'll wear your precious mother down." Katherine threatened snarling to bare her teeth. As if Serena would be frightened by the likes of her.

"No, you wont." A man said and Katherine turned around to see Nathaniel standing there. His fist was in her face then he flexed his fingers and a blinding light flung her backwards into the wall leaving a large dent.

Elena knew she was dreaming, no matter how vivid the fair looked. She was in the same place where she had fallen asleep, except this fair was abandoned, it looked like a ghost town. However, there were bodies on the ground, men and women, all of them slaughtered and skinned like animals.

"You see." She heard a man say softly. She quickly spun around looking for him. "This is what's going to happen."

"No, we won't let you destroy this town."

"You can't stop me." He said now standing in front of her with a threatening look on his face daring her to try.

"We'll find a way."

He sighed loudly as he came even closer – close enough to kiss her. His hand caressed her face. The heat burned her skin like it had before and she couldn't help but melt against it no matter how hard she tried not to. "My sweet Elena." He whispered. "I am coming, and when I arrive every woman in this town will beg for my love. They will fight each other for it."

"You make them kill each other?" She asked.

"Love makes people do crazy things Elena. But, don't worry." He added cupping her face now with both hands lovingly. "I won't let anyone harm your beautiful body."

"I don't love you."

As if to test that theory, he gave her a sly grin and transformed to look like Stefan. Then he leaned in to kiss her. She was too stunned to react and feeling his lips on hers was like lighting a spark to a flame. She could feel the sin in it, but it was too tempting and frankly delicious like chocolate. She couldn't pull away. Yet the way he kissed her reminded her of Stefan, like he had studied him. When the kiss ended she felt like she was still floating on a cloud. "What about now?"

"You're not Stefan." She whispered, trying to remind herself of that fact so she didn't want more. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

"I am whoever you want me to be." He whispered in her ear seductively then picked her up hooking an arm under her knees. He carried her through a door that was standing there in the middle of the open and when they got to the other side they were in her bedroom. He laid her on the bed and she stared up at him bewildered at what was going on. She knew what was coming, but couldn't stop it as it was still her dream. Yet they had warned her to not let him get this far in a dream or else your fate was sealed. She had to wake herself up somehow. She tried pinching herself.

"You will not wake." He stated. "Not until I allow it." He was now shirtless and his pants were unbuttoned as he approached the bed.

She backed up against the headboard hugging her knees. "You're not Stefan, I don't love you."

He grabbed her legs pulling her down so she was laying again and he rested between her legs. She kept whispering to herself until his lips silenced hers by kissing her again, more passionately this time, making her body want to submit that much more. She felt like she was drunk – it was that same feeling of impaired judgment – of not knowing what's real and what's exaggerated. Except it wasn't alcohol, his kiss was the drug. And the more he kissed her, the worse it got, until she couldn't fight him anymore. Next thing she knew they were under her sheets and neither of them had their clothes on anymore. He kissed down to her neck and she let him.

"Stefan." She whispered contently, as if it were really him making love to her. "I love you."

Lilu smirked happily hearing the inevitable words, and with that she was his, and he bit her neck marking her. She cried out from the pain, and sat up quickly to see that she was back in the fairgrounds on the ground where she had passed out. She was covered in sweat, her hair plastered to her face, and her clothes stuck to her skin. Remembering what woke her, she quickly put her hand to her neck and felt pain and heat. When she looked at her hand again, there was blood on it. She couldn't help but start to cry as she realized what she had let happen. She reached for her phone and dialed.

"Damon." She cried softly.

"Elena, what's wrong? Where's Stefan?"

"Stefan's gone. Damon, please, something terrible's happened."

That was all he needed to hear and he was on his way.


	29. Two Can Play That Game

**Chapter 29: Two Can Play That Game**

**Thank you for all the support so far, Let me know what you think. **

The alarm that he had stepped into town went off that afternoon. Eli had woken up the second it happened to warn everyone. The girls were frightened, they had every right to be. Serena kept her cool though. She came walking to Elena's house knocking on the door. "It's time." Serena said when Elena opened the door. Elena looked behind her to Caroline and Bonnie and though they were afraid they were ready. "We'll draw him to a public place so he can't do anything."

"Except seduce us." Bonnie stated not liking the idea at all. She wanted to fight him, not give in to him. Caroline and Elena stared at her wide eyed not believing she said that. "It's the truth and we all know it.

"Just whatever you do." Serena said getting their attention again. "Don't let him touch you." She warned as she turned around headed for the car.

"What happens if he touches you?" Caroline asked from behind Elena.

"He wins." Serena stated simply then took Elena's hand dragging her out of the house.

In the car on the way there Serena got a phone call from Alec. "Yes, lover?" She asked trying not to sound too snooty, but it came out that way anyway. She felt bad about it, he was only trying to look out for her well being.

"I don't like this." He said.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to do."

"There are other ways to protect Elena."

"Oh really? Do tell." She said opening her ears to any suggestions on how to protect her. "Alec, he has what he wants. He marked her, now he'll come and get her. The only thing he wants more than her is either me, or my mother. Katherine he's already had, she's old news to him, but we're the ones who got away. Now, my mother isn't exactly in the best of conditions to do anything, so that leaves me."

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"I love you." She said softly then hung up the phone on him. She knew he would try his hardest to talk her out of what she had planned, but she had to keep her mind off of him if she was going to convince Lilu she wanted him.

At the Grill they sat at the booth and noticed it was full as usual, and they felt bad for all the girls who had no idea what was coming. Serena had gone in the back to hide, he couldn't see her until the right time.

Then music started, a song they all recognized and were surprised to hear it. (Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen). Then they heard a voice which was different and it sent chills through their bodies. It was deep and smooth, and enticing as hell. Caroline and Elena recognized it.

"I've been meaning to tell you" He started and the spot light came on. The girls all gasped as they had all seen him before in their dreams. Every girl in the room started whispering to each other in disbelief that he was real. 

"I've got this feelin' that won't subside  
>I look at you and I fantasize<br>Darlin' tonight  
>Now I've got you in my sights" His eyes rose eyeing Elena. It made her uncomfortable and she turned away. Apparently he didn't like that as he moved down the stairs off the stage. His eyes moved across the room eyeing every girl with a smirk on his face. He was cocky, he knew they were all swooning over him.<p>

"With these hungry eyes  
>One look at you and I can't disguise<br>I've got hungry eyes  
>I feel the magic between you and I." He looked to Elena again and then came to stand right beside her. She kept her eyes down as best she could trying not to freak out.<p>

"I want to hold you so hear me out  
>I want to show you what love's all about" His hand crept forwards on the table towards her and she quickly moved it under the table. He seemed annoyed but hid it, he wasn't used to rejection. He just kept on singing and turned his glance to Bonnie who was across from Elena.<br>"Darlin' tonight  
>Now I've got you in my sights<p>

With these hungry eyes  
>One look at you and I can't disguise<br>I've got hungry eyes  
>I feel the magic between you and I" Bonnie became just as uncomfortable and looked to Elena for help, she just shook her head knowing that Bonnie was wanting to do something stupid like use magic on him or anything she could to get away from this feeling he was putting inside them. It was so hard to fight. <p>

Not wanting to make all the other girls feel left out he turned away from the table headed back to the stage to finish the song. Elena looked around the room and saw all the other girls under his spell swooning over him with their eyes glued.

"Now I've got you in my sights  
>With these hungry eyes<br>Now did I take you by surprise  
>I need you to see<br>This love was meant to be."

Before he could get off the stage feeling proud that his work had begun more music started, the sound of a lonely guitar which caught his attention and he began to scan the room looking for the person that had the nerve to interrupt.

"There's a fire starting in my heart,  
>Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark,<br>Finally, I can see you crystal clear,  
>Go ahead and sell me out and a I'll lay your shit bare." The spot light came to the bar and there was Serena standing on it with a guitar in hand.<p>

"Serena." He whispered recognizing her immediately. Then the pounding started and they could see two girls they'd never met before stomping their feet on two of the tables to the beat. Elena figured they were more friends of Serena's.

"See how I'll leave with every piece of you,  
>Don't underestimate the things that I will do,<br>There's a fire starting in my heart,  
>Reaching a fever pitch and it's bring me out the dark,<p>

She puts the guitar down and moves down the bar. "The scars of your love remind me of us,  
>They keep me thinking that we almost had it all,<br>The scars of your love, they leave me breathless,  
>I can't help feeling,<p>

We could have had it all,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me) Milena and Annemarie sang<br>Rolling in the deep,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<br>You had my heart inside your hand,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me),<br>And you played it to the beat,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<p>

Serena comes closer to the stage moving atop the tables. Elena could see it in the way she moved and the way she sang that she was giving him a taste of his own medicine. She was seducing him. "Baby, I have no story to be told,  
>But I've heard one on you and I'm gonna make your head burn." She opened her jacket to reveal just giving him a peek at her slim belly shirt underneath.<br>Think of me in the depths of your despair,  
>Make a home down there as mine sure won't be shared,<p>

Then she takes the jacket off completely revealing the marks on her body that he had left long ago. Unlike in Elena's dream where he had marked her neck, he had left them on Serena in hidden places where no one could ever see.

"The scars of your love remind me of us,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me),<br>They keep me thinking that we almost had it all,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<br>The scars of your love, they leave me breathless,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me),<br>I can't help feeling,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<p>

We could have had it all,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me),<br>Rolling in the deep,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<br>You had my heart inside your hand,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me),<br>And you played it to the beat,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<p>

Could have had it all,  
>Rolling in the deep,<br>You had my heart inside your hand,  
>But you played it with a beating,<p>

Now she came to stand directly in front of him at the foot of the stage. Though, it was hard she stared him down as he was doing to her.

"Throw your soul through every open door,  
>Count your blessings to find what you look for,<br>Turn my sorrow into treasured gold," She pulls out a golden bracelet from her pocket holding it up, it looks like a golden chain. It was a gift he had once given her. She was taunting him, and threw it to him, it landed at his feet. He glanced down at it for a second angrily then looked back to her.  
>"You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you've sown." She jumped from the table to the stairs and started walking up to the stage and circled him as she kept singing.<p>

"(You're gonna wish you never had met me),  
>We could have had it all,<br>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),  
>We could have had it all,<br>(You're gonna wish you never had met me),  
>It all, it all, it all,<br>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

"We could have had it all," Finally she let her power out using it against him and he quickly covered his ears as she wailed singing louder. He almost fell to his knees.  
>"(You're gonna wish you never had met me),<br>Rolling in the deep,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<br>You had my heart inside your hand,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me),<br>And you played it to the beat,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<p>

Could have had it all,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me),<br>Rolling in the deep,  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),<br>You had my heart inside your hand,  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)," Her voice died down again and he stood straight again glaring her down angry that she was trying to hurt him. She kept staring back as she finished the song.<p>

"But you played it,  
>You played it,<br>You played it,  
>You played it to the beat."<p>

When the song ended he grabbed her chin forcefully with his hand showing his anger with her. She didn't flinch knowing he wasn't going to do anything drastic in public. He let her go proving her right, then surprised everyone including her by quickly smacking her across the face. Everyone gasped as the smack echoed in the room. Serena realized she had accomplished what she wanted and got his attention, so she looked to Elena who nodded and the three of them slipped out to get away. Outside in the alley Stefan and Damon were waiting for them.

"Are you ok?" Damon asked. He checked her mark and it looked the same. He touched it and it wasn't as warm as it had been that morning. Perhaps that meant that Serena was right, she had gotten his attention off of Elena so his mark was dissipating.

Elena nodded. "I'm fine. He has Serena."

"Good, let's go." Damon said in a hurry.

"What about Serena?" Caroline asked worried about their new friend. She couldn't even imagine the things that Lilu would put her through.

"This was her plan." Damon reminded them. "She'll be fine."

Inside, Lilu quickly grabbed her arm and led her out the back into the alley. Then let her go forcefully once he knew they were alone. "What the hell was that?"

"Don't tell me you didn't notice?" She said confidently, she was perhaps overly confident, but she knew it intrigued him that much more. So she kept playing her role.

"Oh, I noticed." He sighed stepping down the stairs getting closer to her. His eyes studying her. "You put yourself up as bait, using my feelings for you against me."

Serena laughed. "Feelings…you don't have feelings."

He grabbed her again pushing her against the dumpster. His eyes flared red fire as usual when he got angry proving who he really was inside his meat suit. "Never insult me."

"Sorry I'm not the silent type you love so much."

He grinned evilly. "Don't be." He said softly caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers. "That's what I love the most about you."

"You love all women." She stated not believing his pretty lies for one minute. She had fallen for them once, she wasn't going to let herself do it again. "I doubt you've had a single thought of me in the past millennium."

"You're wrong."

"Your spell won't work on me this time, Lilu. I. Don't. Love you anymore." She said slowly to make her point.

He smacked her again angrily. "You will love me because you can't help it." He rasped into her ear. She turned to face him and spit the blood from her mouth on his face. He just wiped it off like it didn't bother him. "Why offer yourself if you're not going to cooperate?"

"Oh, I'll cooperate. _If_ you promise to leave Elena and the other girls alone."

"Hm, that's a lot of women." He said with a glisten in his eyes showing the pleasure from the thought of them all bent to his will. "What makes you think you can protect them all?"

"Fine." She sighed. She would negotiate, she'd take what she could get. "Then Elena and her friends."

"Ah, the vampire and the witch." They were intriguing to him it was obvious, but they weren't his cup of tea. Vampires couldn't reproduce, and witches were his offspring so why impregnate them? He wanted humans. "But why should I believe you? You ran from me once, you'll do it again."

"No." She stated flatly putting a finger in his face. "That was my mother's doing. She made me marry Luke to keep you away. I didn't want to." She said as if she was sorry that they weren't given their chance. She wanted him to believe she wanted him like she did back then, even though she didn't love him anymore. She just wanted to make him jealous.

"Don't lie to me." He warned getting very close to her. The black abyss in his eyes still glowed red.

"You really think I would have married that man on my own? I hated him from the day we met to the day he died."

"So you're husbandless?"

"I am."

He smirked and dragged her away again.

Elena and Damon made it back to the estate to see Nathaniel, Noah and Eli waiting for their return on the porch impatiently. Nathaniel stood ready for news when they came up. "Well?"

"He has her." Elena said.

"I still don't like this." Nathaniel said. "He can kill her. If she betrays him he'll kill her, or he'll bed her until she has nothing left."

"She's stronger than that." Elena disagreed. Serena's strength was something she had come to count on. She'd seen it in the way she handled Luke and Elijah - she'd been strong for their family, she wasn't going to give up now.

"Let's hope so." Nathaniel muttered sounding worried. He turned into the house and stood in there in the parlor with Damon and Elena. "I hear your brother has gone missing." Nathaniel said to Damon.

"Again." Damon sighed. Why was it Stefan who always got mixed up in things.

"Do we know who took him?" Nathaniel asked casually seeming fairly unconcerned. He looked to Elena knowing they had been together.

"A woman." Elena stated, sounding uncertain. "But I don't know who she is."

"Lilitu." Nathaniel informed her. "The Succubus. She was here to do her brother's bidding since we had that alarm set. He couldn't risk coming inside too soon."

"Before he seduced me." Elena corrected, knowing very well that's what Lilu was waiting for. She didn't want to admit it, but it was the unfortunate truth. She was still so mad with herself that it had happened, she should've fought harder.

"There was nothing more you could have done." Nathaniel assured her as if he read her mind. "Now as for why she took your brother." He said quickly changing the subject before Damon got frustrated. "It seems she has chosen her new toy."

"But why?" Damon asked. "Vampires can't reproduce."

"This is true." Nathaniel admitted. "However, sometimes they don't care. If they see someone they like they have to them no matter what. She'll tire of him eventually, and move on to someone who can do the job, but who knows how long it will take."

"You're not suggesting we wait it out?" Elena outburst angrily. She couldn't bear the thought of what she was putting Stefan through. She couldn't even bear the thought of him with another woman, any women, let alone that one.

"Of course not." Nathaniel reassured her patting her shoulder. "I will save him." He offered.

"You." Damon said unimpressed.

"I have a better idea." Sebastian said entering the room from the other doorway.

"No, Sebastian." Nathaniel said sternly as if he were his superior. It made sense considering he was the eldest of the second generation. "She will treat you just as Serena is being treated. She will never let you go."

"That is why it must be me." He argued coming closer. "Just like it had to be Serena."

"You and Lilitu?" Elena asked figuring it out.

"Yes, Elena. Like her brother, Lilitu found someone to her liking within our family. Lilu chose my sisters, one by one until they were all married, and she did the same. However, unlike my sisters, and even my brothers, who got away before anything happened, I was not so lucky."

"Sebastian, we are already risking one of you being drained to death, which in turn would kill you too, I will not allow you to increase that chance by sacrificing yourself as well."

"I will only be there long enough for you to free Stefan." He said trying to convince his cousin of his plan. "You are her grandson – " He stopped suddenly.

Nathaniel put his finger to his lips to keep Sebastian from revealing that secret, but apparently he didn't see it soon enough. When Elena looked to him curiously he put on an unappreciative smirk. "Thank you for reminding me."

Sebastian sighed and glared back. "You can use your magic against hers." He said slowly as if it were obvious. "Release us both from her spell and free us."

Nathaniel shook his head turning away. He didn't like the idea, but frankly he couldn't think of anything better. The fact that he came from that bitch of all people – that she was the mother of his mother (the best woman he'd ever known – he never understood. He had never come to grips with it. He hid from it.

Sebastian sighed getting impatient. "For once in your life face where you came from."

Nathaniel looked to him raising his eyes as his head stayed low. Then he looked to Elena who returned the glance with begging in her eyes. Damon waited impatiently for their decision. He sighed and looked back to his younger cousin, and slowly nodded his approval.

**Sorry about the lyrics, but I tried to give you a visual of what Serena and Lilu were trying to do with their singing. **


	30. Sacrifice

**Chapter 30: Sacrifice**

**Sorry it took so long for this chapter, I hit writer's block again, and I'm working on another story. I'll be putting that up soon, look out for it if you want, it's a True Blood story called ****Before Eric****. Also, I have decided to put my book onto FanFiction's sister site, – it's called Aphrodite's Curse. So I've been a little busy . Thanks again for my loyal readers, and I'm glad to see that I'm still recruiting more. Let's keep them coming!**

Sebastian and Nathaniel decided to take Damon out on the town in Mystic Falls. Their hope was to find Lilitu's hiding place. She was able to sneak into town, but she certainly wouldn't be able to sneak back out without Eli noticing. So they knew she was still around. Before they could leave though, they would need a way to track Stefan. There was no way to track Lilitu, unless they had Lilu on hand, so Damon was the next best thing.

Eli came to him with a dagger – one Damon recognized. It was the dagger they all carried: silver and dipped in ash. Damon quickly stood up from his chair to back away from it. "What do you think you're doing?"

Eli laughed. "I'm not going to kill you."

"What do you need it for?"

"I need your blood for the spell."

"What spell?"

"You're Stefan's brother, therefore your blood is the same as his. I can use that to find him. I also need something that belongs to him." He said looking over to Elena who was sitting on the couch.

She stood up and pulled something out of her pocket. "Here." She said handing him a Stefan's ring.

Damon noticed it and panicked. "Stefan's ring?"

"She must have taken it off his finger." Elena said.

"So he can't escape in the daylight." Nathaniel answered. "She can't go out in the sun either."

Eli took the ring from Damon and sat down in front of the coffee table where he had a small wooden bowl sitting. He lifted the dagger again and Damon reluctantly held out his arm over the bowl. Eli quickly sliced his forearm squeezing the blood out. The ash prevented the cut from healing as if he were human so Eli was able to fill the bowl of blood. Damon quickly took his arm back covering his wound with a towel to catch the blood that was still flowing.

Eli knelt down again and started chanting something no one understood, except Nathaniel. Nathaniel was chanting it under his breath in sync with Eli. As he chanted he sprinkled an herb into the bowl. Then he attached the ring to a chain which had a crystal on the other end. He held the ring in his hand and twirled the crystal along the surface of the blood in the bowl. On the table next to the bowl was a map of the city. He then took the crystal, now wet with Damon's blood, and moved it in a circle over the map while still chanting the same thing repeatedly. After a few seconds the crystal fell to a spot on the map.

"There." Eli said. "That's where your brother is."

Meanwhile, Serena was getting a tour of her new prison. Like his sister, Lilu was now trapped in Mystic Falls unable to leave. However, he wasn't stupid enough to stay with his sister. The house he chose was actually occupied, to Serena's surprised. The only people who lived there were, of course, two women – a mother and a daughter – under his spell. Serena hoped they didn't get violent for their own sakes.

Lilu led her into the attic. The older woman said it was once her son's room back when he was in his rebellious stage, no doubt. It worked. Lilu went up first and she stood there on the steps looking around. Her stomach was in knots and she felt faint. For the first time since she came up with this plan, she started to feel frightened of what he was going to do to her.

"Come." He called holding out his hand from the other side of the room. She complied hesitantly and came up. With a wave of his hand he quickly locked the door behind her. She kept moving towards him until she made it to the bed. She could feel her heart racing even faster by the second. "I'd never hurt you, Serena. You know that?" Her eyes quickly averted to his. She had almost forgotten he could read her mind. _Mental note: shut up_. He smirked. "You can't keep me out either." He stated.

"I can try." She said. Really, she just wanted to keep Alec a secret. She had to keep herself from thinking about him. Even though, they weren't married yet, if he found out she had a lover it was hard to say what he'd do.

"What's in there that you're so afraid of?" He asked softly as he caressed her face.

"I fear nothing." She stated proudly, which was true in many ways. For herself, she feared nothing, but when it came to those she loved she was much more attune to fear.

"A fact I know well." He said. "And it's what I love about the women in your family. Your mother was the first, as you know. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, even to this day."

"If you're trying to make me jealous of my mother it won't work. We're smarter than the rest of the women who are playing your little game."

He grinned. "I'd never set you two against each other. For you, I'd make an exception." He said turning to the small cart behind him, which was set up with glasses and two pitchers, one with wine and one blood.

"Come again?"

"Usually when we come to an area to find a mate, we make this big commotion to find the strongest and most worthy. However, in your case." He added handing her her glass of blood. "I'd happily take you both."

"Are you even allowed to do that?"

"My dear, I am allowed to do whatever I please up here."

She nodded and quickly drank the whole glass hoping it'd make her feel better, stronger. He grabbed the pitcher to pour more. "Now, there's one thing I never quite figured out." She said.

"Do tell."

"You only show up to decimate a town once every century or so. Surely, you bed more women than that."

"We're like the gods of old." He explained. "We have our spouses, but that doesn't mean we have to be faithful."

"So all this is just to find another spouse? And when she dies in the next eighty to a hundred years you'll do it all over again."

"And in the meantime." He added finishing off his wine. "I'll bed any woman I please while she births my sons."

"Are you saying she's the only one that can get pregnant?"

"No, however, she is the only one that will birth the sons I want."

"What do you mean?"

"Serena, my sister and I beget more than just witches – something that book of yours fails to mention. For our mates we use spells to make sure that the offspring they give us are the witches that our father asks of us. Any other woman, or man, we cannot perform that ritual on so they may beget any number of supernatural creatures or even humans."

Something clicked then. Throughout her entire life she had been reading those books to try and find the source of her family's affliction, and that of the werewolves. The books had been wrong. There was no set demon which begot each supernatural creature, they all came from the same demon, or rather demons. "Vampires?" She asked softly.

"Ah, she's figured it out." He said. "It's true that your precious grandfather is my son, as was his wife's lover."

The fact that she now knew he was her great-grandfather her stomach turned at the thought of lying with him. No matter what the reason. "You incestuous son of a – " She muttered, but before she could finish her sentence he grabbed her by the throat.

"The only reason I told you all this is so that maybe, just maybe, you would trust me."

"Trust you? You think just because I know now that we're related I'd trust you? I think not."

"I know that is the answer you have been looking for since it happened. And none of you have been able to find it. Well, there it is. Now I want mine."

"Answer to what?"

"Why the women in your family are so bloody special?" He yelled angrily into her ear. "Why you are the ones I can never forget?" Then he threw her on the bed.

Damon led the others through the town and eventually they found the house Eli had pointed out on the map. It was an apartment building. "How are we supposed to know which apartment they're in?" Damon asked.

"Use the ring." Nathaniel told him.

Damon pulled Stefan's ring out his jacket pocket. It was still hanging from the chain with the blood-stained crystal. As he held it, Damon felt a pull, as if the crystal was leading him in the right direction. They followed Damon inside the building and up the stairs. Sure enough, they had to go all the way to the top floor – floor 6. Then it led them to one of the doors on the left.

"Shocker there." Sebastian said pointing to the number on the door – 66. Then Sebastian stepped in front of Damon to knock on the door. Nathaniel pulled Damon over and they hid down the hallway just around the corner.

Lilitu looked through the peephole and saw Sebastian so she opened the door. "Sebastian Nerva, what a pleasant surprise." She said with a smile as she leaned against the doorway.

"Are you really that surprised?" He asked knowing her better than that.

"Come on." She ushered taking him by the hand. Once he was inside and the door was closed Nathaniel and Damon knew their plan was working so they went on their way.

The inside of the apartment looked fairly well decorated, and all in black. The furniture was black, as were the curtains and the lamp shades. Even her fridge was black. She had a large flat-screen TV in the living room. "I like what you've done with the place." Sebastian said. "Where'd you get it all?"

"Oh, you know how men are." She sighed opening the fridge. "They'll practically do anything to get a girl to go home with them." He smirked, that's what he thought. She came over and handed him a glass of red wine. "So I take it you're here to save the vampire." She said. When he gave her a confused look she pointed to her head to let him know she had fished it out of his mind. He mentally cursed at himself for that, he'd forgotten all about her and her brother's telepathy. "May I ask why?"

"May I ask why you want him so badly?"

"Ooh, are we jealous?"

"No, just curious. He's a vampire, ere go he's incompetent."

"That may be so, but vampires are still good lovers."

"He doesn't love you."

"Not yet. In time, perhaps."

"You intend to keep him that long? I thought you were here to find a mate so you can start birthing more witches to infest the world."

She quickly tackled him to the floor. Stefan could hear the thud from the bedroom, and he was curious as to what was going on, since he knew Sebastian was there. However, he was too weak from being drugged to do anything. Lilitu straddled Sebastian's waist looking down at him. "Now, that's a rotten thing to say about my babies."

"I have nothing against witches, you know that. Hell, Nathaniel is one of them."

"Ah yes, my poor, sweet Josephine fell in love with that pompous wind bag Niklaus. What a tragedy. Although, she did give birth to the greatest warlock that ever lived, so I guess I should be thankful that my daughter did her duty to me well."

"She didn't do it for you. She hid him from you, didn't she? She set that spell on him to keep his powers from manifesting throughout his entire childhood so you couldn't corrupt him."

"Yes, she betrayed me. Many of them do. It's so hard to make them loyal anymore."

"Do you want Nathaniel?"

"If you're trying to bargain, don't waste your time. Nathaniel is a lost cause to me. I can always have another daughter and force her on one of your descendents."

"Alright. What do you want then? Like your brother you have a soft spot for my family. Or has that changed?"

She leaned down over him and kissed him hard on the lips. "Nothing's changed, my love. Do you still love me?"

"Unfortunately." He sighed.

She smiled happily and kissed him again, but he pulled her off. "Release him." She didn't want to, but she gave in and got up headed for the bedroom where she kept Stefan. Sebastian followed. Stefan was happy to see a friend, someone he trusted. "What the hell?" Sebastian asked seeing Stefan hooked up to a machine which was pumping some kind of drug into him.

"A vampire is the only creature which inherited our strength. I had to sedate him." She explained as she walked over to turn the machine off. "There –"

"Wait." Sebastian said. "Inherited?"

"You caught that did you?"

"You don't mean – "

"Oh, I do. Not my doing, mind you. That was my brother."

"Oh god."

"God had nothing to do with it, I assure you."

Sebastian quickly headed for the door, but she beat him to it. "We had a deal, remember? I set the vampire free and you take his place." He backed away from the door, not knowing what to think or do. How had they missed it? How had they not known? She pulled him close holding his face in her hands. "I still love you, Sebastian. I will always love you. I should've never let you go." She kissed him again and as much as he wanted to fight her off and kill her for burdening his family with this curse, he couldn't just abandon Stefan. After all, none of this had anything to do with him. He was merely unlucky that he happened to fall in love with the doppelganger who looked like their mother. That wasn't his fault.

Slowly, Stefan's strength started returning and he was able to pull the needle out of his arm. It was such a relief and his arm quickly healed. Feeling so weak reminded him of when he died, after he was shot and lost so much blood that he passed out. That's what this felt like. Not long after he could hear Lilitu in the other room and it sounded like she was enjoying herself. No doubt, Sebastian had held up his end of the deal to take his place as her pet. And it was still going on hours later when he finally had the strength to get out of bed and leave. Once he got outside Damon and Nathaniel quickly snatched him and took him home.


	31. Gutenberg

**Chapter 31: Gutenberg**

**Yay, up to 50 reviews, that makes me really happy. I've never had nearly that much on any of my other stories. Thanks guys, keep them coming, they make me want to keep going. **

Inside the Salvatore house again, Stefan relaxed in his bed with Elena sitting next to him. Damon sat in a chair beside the bed. They were both curious as to what happened to him there, but he really didn't want to talk about it. Elena, especially, he knew wouldn't want to know the details even though she claimed she did.

"So she drugged you? That's how she overpowered you?" Damon asked.

"Yeah. She said vampires are the only creatures that inherited their strength."

"What does that mean?" Elena asked worried.

"It means like the witches, vampires are a product of one of their unions." Alaric stated. He had been away for the past couple days buried inside the library in Serena's basement again. He had found something there relating to Lilu that he wasn't sure Serena was even aware of. Once he had their attention he held up the book he found.

"What is that?" Elena asked curiously.

"I found this in their library." Alaric said looking down at it. "Yet I doubt Serena realized it was there, or she just forgot about it."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it lists every supernatural creature that came from the psycho twins."

"Who wrote it?" Damon inquired taking it from him to inspect it curiously. He opened it up to looked at the first couple pages but they were blank. He looked in the back as well and nothing. Not even a table of contents.

Alaric shrugged. "I honestly don't know. No author is listed. No copyright information whatsoever is listed actually. So I'm guessing that this is the only copy, and whoever did write it put it in that library hoping Serena would find it." Rick assumed, which was a good assumption. Judging by the look of the book it was at least a few hundred years old. Yet judging by the paper as he flipped it through his fingers and smelled the ink he realized it was older than that, or at least the paper was.

"You don't think – " Elena started.

"What? That Lilu put it there?" Damon asked. "How could he?"

"No, I doubt this was Lilu's doing." Rick agreed. "I don't know how I didn't notice this before."

"Notice what?" Elena asked.

"The type, the ink, the paper – "

"What about it?" Damon asked impatiently.

"It's just like the Gutenberg bible." Rick said running his fingers across the type. He had a copy of that bible, he'd recognize the type anywhere.

"Gutenberg? As in the Gutenberg? The man who invented the printing press?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah." Rick said slowly still studying the paper. "Whoever did this had access to that machine. I'm sure of it."

"Someone with a lot of money perhaps?" Damon suggested.

"Like Luke?" Stefan added knowing what his brother was thinking. Damon nodded.

"It's possible." Alaric agreed. "Then centuries later he redid the binding to make it look newer to throw her off."

"So Luke knew the whole time about vampires and never told her?" Elena asked.

"He was working for Klaus, remember?" Damon said. "Klaus wouldn't want anyone else to know."

"What would Klaus have to gain from knowing where the affliction came from?" Elena asked.

"A cure?" Stefan suggested. "If there was a cure and he had access to it, there would be a lot of vampires and werewolves at his bidding in hopes of getting it in return."

"Or he could use it against them." Alaric said. "Turn it into a weapon."

"Does it say anything about a cure?" Stefan asked Alaric.

"No. Klaus knew about them, but I doubt he was ever able to get either of them to talk to him."

"Well, we have both of them here in town." Damon pointed out with that look in his eye they all recognized, the one that's full of trouble.

"We just got Stefan away from her, and now you want to go back?" Elena said.

"Stefan can stay." Damon said. His brother was in no position to go gallivanting through town on a treasure hunt. "We just have to get a message to Serena or Sebastian somehow about this book and maybe they can find something."

"I doubt it." Stefan said. When he was locked up she had taken his cell phone away from him. He still didn't have it back, she had hid it somewhere and he wasn't able to find it before leaving. He'd have to buy a new one. So he was certain she did the same with Sebastian's and he doubted Lilu was any different.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel came storming into the estate knowing all about the book having heard the whole conversation. He came into the living room where Elijah was with Katherine.

"I need to talk to you." Nathaniel said getting Elijah's attention.

"Who exactly?" Katherine asked curiously.

"Not you." Nathaniel said bluntly. "You." He pointed to Elijah.

"About?"

"A certain book in Serena's library that she didn't even know existed." Nathaniel said smugly crossing his arms over his chest with an eyebrow cocked curiously.

"How do you know she didn't? It was her library was it not?" Katherine asked.

"I know everything she knows." He stated pointing to his head. He made it his duty to know everything everyone in their generation knew. "See, unlike their generation, we tend to tell each other everything."

"You mean except Nicholas?" Katherine stated knowing that Nicholas was hiding the whole time.

"Do you mind?" Nathaniel asked getting frustrated with her. Then he turned back to Elijah. "Did you know about it?"

"You are going to have to be more specific, Nathaniel." Elijah stated standing up from the couch to face him.

"Our family affliction." He rasped between his teeth.

Elijah took him by the arm and led him across the hall into the parlor. "You mean the Incubus being my grandfather?"

"So you did know?"

"I made that book." Elijah admitted casually as if it was nothing important.

Nathaniel laughed in disbelief. "You…you have the nerve to hide it in your own daughter's library rather than telling her yourself?"

"I did not put it there." Elijah corrected quickly. The notion that Nathaniel would think he would do such a thing offended him. On the other hand he had been gone all their lives so he deserved to be looked at suspiciously. "I haven't seen that book in over five hundred years since I handed it over to Klaus."

"Figures." Nathaniel muttered. "It was my father's doing." Just thinking about his father again was irritating. Just when he thought he was rid of him forever, something with his signature on it comes along to cause trouble.

"Yes." Elijah agreed. "Klaus found out the truth and wanted me to get it printed so we would always have it."

Nathaniel cringed angrily knowing there was only one other person on the face of the planet who worked for Klaus that could have put it there without Serena ever knowing or being suspicious because he was in it just as much as she was. "That means Luke put it there."

Elijah nodded and sighed, "Now you know the truth. What do you intend to do with it?"

Nathaniel shrugged uncertain of what he could do. "I don't have the book." Elijah was surprised, he didn't know how it could have gotten out. And if Nathaniel didn't have it, then how did he suddenly know about it? "One of our new friends took it. So I need you to tell me what you know."

"Why should I?" Elijah asked.

"Because she is your daughter!" Nathaniel yelled getting everyone else's attention who were still in the living room.

"There is nothing in that book that will help her." Elijah rasped angry at being yelled at, especially by his nephew.

"Don't you dare lie to me." Nathaniel warned stepping as close to Elijah as he could threateningly.

"Are you threatening me?"

"She may be your daughter, but I am the one who has taken care of her for the past millennium, and I will not stop now just because you finally stepped up to the plate." He said with his voice escalating every few words until he was yelling as loudly as he could. "So you will tell me what you know." Nathaniel added slowly baring his fangs at his uncle growling.

Sebastian finally tiptoed out of the bedroom taking advantage of the fact that she was in the bathroom taking a bath. He quickly sniffed out blood in the fridge and drank it to regain his strength. Meanwhile, he snooped around the apartment looking for a phone. Surely she and her brother had some way of contacting each other. She had taken his cell phone.

"Are you up?" She called out from the bathroom. No doubt she heard him moving around.

"Yeah, just hungry." He told her, which was half true, so he didn't care. She didn't reply. He didn't know if that was good or bad, so he paused for a moment listening for movement but he could hear the water moving meaning she was still in it, so he went back to what he was doing. He checked the small living room: under the couch cushions, under the couch, in the entertainment center, in the bookshelf…then he found a book that caught his attention. He could see by the dust patterns that it had been out recently, so he was curious. He pulled it out and opened it in his hand. When he opened the cover, he saw that the pages had been cut out to fit something that was shaped like a pentagram. It wasn't a necklace – there was no chain. He pulled it out and rolled it around in his hand for a minute. The center pentagon spun and it was made out of something clear – glass maybe. Inside was something that glowed red when it was spinning. And the pentagram was pure gold.

Although, soon he felt strange. The light in the middle was mesmerizing him, like compulsion. He quickly stopped it from spinning and put it away. In the back of the book was a folded up parchment. It was worn and yellowed from old age. He unfolded it and saw writing on it, but the writing was too small to read with even a vampire's eyes. He would need a magnifying glass.

Elijah was standing there in the parlor still with Nathaniel who was sitting in one of the chairs with his elbows resting on his knees as he looked up to his uncle. "When I said there was nothing in that book that could help Serena I was only telling half the truth."

"How so?"

"In all honestly, I am not sure if it can help or not. It may, but it is an untested theory, I have no way of knowing if it will work."

"If what will work?"

"There is no way to kill them, I want you to know that." He said first. "What priests will tell you is true, you cannot exorcise them like other demons, and you cannot use the typical holy weapons on them. Essentially, they are dead, they're spirits, so even if you destroy the body the spirit lives on."

"So then what do we do?"

"Well, there is the theory about Sirens."

"Us? What can we do?"

"You can use your ability against them the way you would with any supernatural creature. After all, all supernaturals are the product of their children. Each of us has inherited at least one of their strengths and one of their weaknesses."

"And what might that be?"

"Well, for us, we inherited their strength and speed. However, our family in particular did not inherit any of their weaknesses but one – the silver dagger with white oak ash. The rest were passed down to those that were turned.

"The vulnerability to sunlight, silver, and stakes." Nathaniel said, and Elijah nodded agreeing. "I don't understand."

"Sunlight does burn and weaken them, it can kill the body that they are in, but as I said before they are spirits. Silver, same thing. The vulnerability to wooden stakes is actually an extension of our weakness to the white oak tree that we burned. The reason we burned it was not only so it could no longer be used against us, but to use it against them."

"So that tree is also the only one that they are vulnerable to?"

"You know of the Christian term "the tree of life?"

"Yes, it refers to Jesus."

"Very good." Elijah said impressed with his nephew. However, when you live as long as they had, you find ways to occupy your time, and usually it's a lot of study, especially back in their time when there was no entertainment. "The tree of life may be just a figure of speech, but the tree of death, is not."

"Tree of death?"

"The white oak." Elijah answered. "Apparently, its bark was what Cain used to carve out a weapon to kill his brother Abel."

"The bible makes no mention of it, neither does any Christian scripture. I've read them all."

"As have I." Elijah said. "No Christian scripture mentions Sirens either, yet we know they exist for you are one of them."

"Alright, but like you said it won't kill them."

"Unfortunately, no. The only thing I found that may work to our advantage, besides Sirens, is a spell."

"Naturally." Nathaniel groaned falling back into his chair with agitation. He was tired of everything revolving around magic. He wished he could give Eli a break.

"However, it cannot be performed by the living."

Nathaniel had been lost in thought and thought perhaps he had heard wrong. "Come again?"

"Even a warlock as powerful as yourself cannot fight a spirit." Elijah stated. "The spell would kill you." He wished it weren't true, but it was. He had spent centuries writing that book before he could print it. He remembered paying Gutenberg to use that machine, sparing him from his bankruptcy after the court case he lost and he was able to open a new printing press shop.

"So someone who is already dead has to do it?"

"Yes."

"Mara – "

"No." Elijah said quickly defending his wife. "Mara is no witch, and even if she were she is not their daughter."

"So, not only do we need a dead witch, we need one who was born from one of them."

"Yes."

"Like my mother."

Then their conversation was cut off by Elena, Damon, and Alaric walking into the house. Nathaniel didn't move, he merely peeked around the corner from his seat. Elijah went out into the hallway, as did Aaron who answered had let them in.

"Aaron." Elena said surprised to see him. She thought he had gone to Italy with the rest of the family. "I thought you left."

"Not to Italy, I just went with Noah back to Salem to see if it was safe. Nathaniel asked us to go retrieve Nathan, Noah's dad. We need all the magical help we can get right now."

Elena smiled. Aaron was someone she wanted to get to know, considering they were related and she knew so little about their family compared to him. He seemed to know everything. Unfortunately, their bonding would have to wait. She looked over and saw Elijah standing there. "Elijah." She greeted.

"Just the person we were looking for." Damon added unenthusiastically. Elijah was still not on his favorites list, none of the originals were. Although, the twins were moving up the ladder as they did the most for them.

"Let me guess." Elijah said. "You are here to enquire about the book you found." He looked to Alaric who was holding it tightly against his body for safekeeping.

"Hello Elena." Katherine said coming out of the living room.

"Mara, you're on your feet – "

"Guess again." Katherine said cutting her off.

"Katherine."

"I see you've been marked." Katherine said noticing her neck. Elena quickly fixed her hair to hide it, and Katherine laughed. "It's strange isn't it?"

"I dont know what you're talking about."

"That sensation of feeling drawn to someone you've never met. The infatuation, the lust, the desire to be around him."

"You're wrong." Elena said quickly in her own defense. It was true that she felt attracted to him, and she could feel an odd sense of wanting to go find him, but it had diminished some since Serena sacrificed herself and whatever was left she could fight off on her own.

"Am I?" Katherine asked revealing her own neck to show that she bore the same mark. "I think not."

"You too?" Elena asked, then she remembered Katherine telling her about her daughter, the reason she was exiled. "Your daughter…"

"Yes, Elena. So you may want to listen to what I have to say regarding your little predicament."

"I don't want your help."

"You've been marked, Elena. Even though he has Serena, he will never let you go. Serena can only satisfy him for now. Then he'll leave, but eventually he will come back. You cannot run from him. What you saw in your dream will happen."

"No, we won't let it." Damon said.

"You are fighting someone you cannot beat. I tried to run, I did. Even after I had my daughter, the man found me demanding to know where she was. He will find you again." Katherine warned then retreated back into the living room.


	32. Covenant

**Chapter 32: Covenant**

**Sorry for the delay, I didn't get any reviews for last chapter, . So let's make it up and give me loads for this one. And my other story I mentioned, Before Eric, is up and running if anyone's interested, please check it out. **

"There's a rumor I have heard that disturbs me." Lilu said walking away from the bed to stand by the window. His arms crossed over his bare chest. Serena felt her heart tighten worrying that in her sleep she had let him know about Alec. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to Alec, especially by Lilu's hand. "You remember Katerina?" He asked looking back at her over his shoulder.

She sighed a sigh of relief letting out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. She let herself relax realizing Alec was safe. For now, at least. "Of course I do." She answered. "The first doppelganger."

"She may have looked like your mother, however her personality could not have been further from the same." He sounded disappointed. It was understandable. Lilu had been so infatuated with Mara, even to this day she was the most beautiful woman to catch his eye. However, she got away, leading to his disappointment, anger, and obsession. He couldn't have her so he swore to have one of her daughters, that didn't work out. Serena had been marked, like Elena, but unlike Katherine she got away before he could have her. Then the doppelganger came along and he realized that was his chance and he took it. Serena actually felt sorry for Katherine in that one regard. It was her fault that Katherine had to go through that. Had she just let Lilu have her none of this would be happening. That was why it was so important to do it now.

"I know." Serena stated. Katherine was rather annoying in their opinions. They never could stand her. She was far too unstable, unpredictable, and rambunctious. However, Serena couldn't deny the similarities between Katherine and herself. Had Serena not have had Luke and were free all that time, it was hard to say how she would have turned out.

"She bore a daughter...My daughter" He added turning around to face her again with anger in his eyes. She noticed the clenching and flexing of his muscles which worked to prove how upset he was. Hearing about Mira, she knew what it was that he was upset about. He found out, somehow, that Serena was the one who took his daughter from Katherine to hide her away from him.

"I know." There was no point in lying, he'd see through it anyway.

"I know you know. You are the one who took her from me!" He yelled swiping his hand across the cart that had carried their breakfast. The glass picher which was still half full of blood went crashing to the floor shattering. Serena jumped in the bed. Then he was kneeling beside her. His eyes were red again, and fangs were extended (which was rare, usually it only happened when he was feeding).

"LIlu, I – "

"Shut up!" He yelled ordering her to be silent until he gave her permission to speak. And she obliged. "I have been on my best behavior, bending over backwards to please you as I did all those years ago when we met." He said bringing the memories flooding back into her head.

Flashback

Serena was walking through the fields with her sister picking berries before lunch. It was nearly noon, the sun high in the sky, and it was extremely hot. It hadn't rained in days, she remembered, and vegetation was starting to die. She wandered away from Annemarie without realizing it, she was off in her own world as usual humming to herself as she glided along. Before she knew it she had wondered all the way to the lake. Nowadays, it was called Lago di Garda (lake Garda), located in Lombardy in Northern Italy where her grandparents lived. Their house was about two miles northwest of the lake, so she had wandered a ways.

Though, she knew she should find her way back Annemarie, who was probably worried sick looking for her, she couldn't resist a swim. It was too hot. She set her basket down and slipped off her dress so that she was wearing only her underdress and walked into the water. Once she was far enough out she dove under. When she came back up for air she was about thirty yards from shore. She rested back floating for a while just enjoying feeling the cool water around her. After a few minutes heard something in the water so she quickly looked around, but didn't see anything. She swore she heard someone come running in, or jump in. She kept looking at the shore waiting to see someone, hopefully not her sister.

"Ah!" She screamed feeling a tap on her shoulder which made her jump and flail in the water. She spun around quickly to see who tapped her – a handsome young man she had never seen before. She quickly backed away pointing a finger at him. "Resti lontano (Stay away)!"

"Signorina, non intendevo spaventare, volevo non danno (Miss, I did not mean to frighten you. I mean you no harm)."

"Chi sei (Who are you)?"

He let his hands down and a smile spread across his face. It was the kind of smile people get knowing they have accomplished something. He was happy that she had asked, although she didn't know it at the time. He was drawing her in. "Lilu."

"Non so voi... vorrei andare (I don't know you… I should go)."

"No, per favore aspetti (please, wait)." He said quickly swimming to catch up to her. He grabbed her by the ankle to pull her back towards him.

"Non mi tocchi (Do not touch me!)" She demanded loudly pushing him away.

"Mi dispiace (I'm sorry)." He said softly placing his hand over his heart as a sign of humility. "So che lei non mi conosce, ma io vi conosco Signorina Petrova (I know you don't know me, but I know you miss Petrova)."

"Come mi conosci (How do you know me)?"

"Io sono un vecchio amico di lei sorella. Sono stato via per qualche tempo e ho appena tornati di recente. (I am an old friend of your sister's. I've been away for some time and have just recently returned.)"

"Non cura niente per mia sorella pretendenti (I care nothing for my sister's suitors)." She stated honestly, shrugging her shoulders as if he meant nothing to her. She began to swim away again.

"È pericoloso viaggiare da soli, Serena (It's dangerous to travel alone, Serena)." He said quickly to stop her. She hadn't noticed it then, how urgent he was to get her attention and to keep it. He would do anything. "Per favore, lasciami ti accompagno alla tu casa (Please, let me take you home)?" He asked gently taking her hand. She didn't deny him so he started to lead her out of the water walking up to shore. She didn't even think about the fact that she was in only her under garments and they were wet meaning they were practically see through. He noticed, though. His eyes scanned her body up and down seeming fairly pleased with what he saw. Then she realized it herself and quickly grabbed her dress holding it over her body frightened and ashamed. Her heart was pounding in fear. No man had ever seen what he just saw. "Non saranno confusi, Serena (Don't be ashamed, Serena)." He said placing his hand gently on her cheek trying to comfort her. "Come sei bella (You are beautiful)."

Feeling his touch was like what she imagined being touched by one of the gods would feel like – warm, sensual and exciting. She could feel her knees weaken as she stared into his beautiful chocolate eyes.

"Serena!" She heard her grandfather and uncle call in unison. It was enough to bring her back to reality and she quickly shuffled putting her dress back on.

" Signorina Nerva (Miss Nerva)!" She heard. They brought one of the servants with them as well to help search. Apparently, Annemarie had gotten worried and ran back home to get them.

Once she had her dress on she quickly grabbed her basket ready to run. But he grabbed her wrist. "Aspetti. Quando posso vedere ancora una volta (Wait. When can I see you again)?"

"Serena!" Alexander called again. She looked over her shoulder urgently knowing she had to leave. Lilu gave in sighing and let her go, but not before he leaned in slowly to kiss her cheek. From then on she was his. She had never been so infatuated in her life…until she met Alec.

End of Flashback

Nathaniel knew he and Eli couldn't do a spell like that alone. After reading the book and seeing what exactly the spell was and what it entailed he knew it was one of those that required a covenant – a group of witches bound to each other. He'd never been part of one, but he had descendents at least. So he told Eli to call Noah to let him know they were coming for a visit. The downside was they couldn't just abandon the others, so they would have to take them along.

"You go, I'll stay and look after the town." Elijah told Nathaniel and Eli who were standing at the door with bags packed ready to go.

Nathaniel shook his head disagreeing. "Uncle, you cannot stand up to them if they come here. The town is beginning to spiral out of control. The girls can't even go to school anymore because it's temporarily shut down due to the fire." Alaric told them that the school was set on fire in the science lab during a mass outbreak of girls fighting amongst each other. It had already begun and it was getting worse by the day.

"No. My daughter and my son are here trapped with those monsters. I am not leaving." Elijah said firmly. "Do you understand?"

Nathaniel sighed realizing he wasn't going to win this fight. It was disappointing to say the least, but he understood. Serena was like his baby sister, he didn't want to leave her, but he had no choice. She would understand. "Yes sir." He looked to Eli and groaned. "Damn it, you stay."

"What?" Eli burst outraged.

"You heard me. You stay and protect them with that witch friend of theirs, what's her name…Bonnie."

"Nathaniel that leaves only four."

"Nathan's wife has a sister, she'll do."

"I don't think – "

"Elijah I don't care what you think!" Nathaniel yelled glaring at him. Eli was rarely afraid of anyone, but Nathaniel was one of the few who could frighten him. And he just did. Eli jumped back instinctively. "I'm sorry." He added seeing that he scared the boy so.

"It's alright."

"No, I know why you want to go back to Salem so badly. I will bring them to you when this is over." In Salem was Eli's family, his young wife and baby girl.

Eli nodded in agreement and shook Nathaniel's hand happily. "Thanks."

Sebastian woke up feeling extremely worn out. He'd never felt so drained in his entire life as a vampire. He looked around the bedroom and noticed it was empty. He couldn't hear any movement in any other parts of the apartment either. "Lilitu?" He called testing to see if he was in fact alone.

When she didn't answer he became excited, however he knew that didn't necessarily mean she was gone. She could be testing him. So he slowly rose from the bed to realize he was still naked and his clothes were gone. Not knowing where else to look he went to the closet across from the bed. It was a very large closet for an apartment – a walk-in. And sure enough it was packed full. Majority of it was clothes for her along with accessories. She did leave him a few clothes though. He just wanted pants so he grabbed a pair and slipped them on. He was still woozy and queasy on top of that, but he made his way around checking all the rooms for her, and it seemed she was gone. So he rushed back to the living room where he found that pentagram. Once he had it in his hand he shoved it into his pocket and ran for the door. Naturally, it was locked and needed a key he didn't possess to open. And he couldn't just break the door down, that would get cops involved and they were the last people they needed. So he ran to the window and tried to get it open.

Sebastian should've thought it was too easy. He didn't realize that until he heard someone behind him clearing their throat to get his attention. "Did you really think I would leave you here alone?" She asked him. She looked over to the bookcase and on the floor was the book she hide her pentagram in. "Give it to me." She ordered.

Sebastian turned around slowly to see her standing there. He felt like an idiot. He wanted to blame his weakened state for his lack of brains at the moment, but it wasn't entirely true. He was just in a hurry and reckless as always.

"Give it!" She yelled angrily holding out her hand impatiently. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket and threw it at her.

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

Eli was upset with being left behind, but there was nothing he could do about it. The town needed protecting. Although, he wasn't sure how true that was anymore. They both had their toys now to keep them busy and entertained so that they wouldn't go after others anymore. But the spell had been set already and girls were still going crazy for him.

"What's in Salem that is so precious to you?" Elijah asked curiously sitting across from him on the couch.

"My family." Eli answered. "While I was in Italy avenging the death of my parents I met my wife. She had also lost her family in the wars. I married her within a year and a few months later she was with child…a daughter."

"Then you should be with them." Elijah said to Eli's surprise. "I, perhaps more than anyone, know the toll for being apart from one's family. I left them thinking I was protecting them from myself, when in actuality it was only leaving them vulnerable to others my brother had already created. Don't make the same mistake. You can never protect someone by being away from them."

"But how would I get there? Nathaniel's already left."

"Take my car." Bonnie said from the doorway tossing him the keys. Nathaniel had stopped by her house on his way out of town and told her what was going on. She was to stay there at the estate with Eli so they could work together to protect the town.

"Bonnie, I appreciate the gesture, but – "

"I don't need it." She interjected. "Besides, I can handle this. We've handled a lot before you guys came along, I'm sure we'll be fine without you for a couple days."

He nodded agreeing with her got up from the couch with the keys in his hand. He was twirling them around as if hesitant to leave, but he finally put one foot in front of the other heading towards the door. He stopped by her side and kissed her on the cheek surprising her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Before he walked away, though, he handed her his watch from his wrist. "You know how to channel?"

"Somewhat." She said remembering Luca and how she had channeled him without his permission. It seemed so long ago now.

"Take it. In case something happens and you need help – "

"I will." She promised taking it from him. He smiled gratefully and then ran out the door.


	33. Addiction

**Chapter 33: Addiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries…I'm so sorry guys for the delay. I'm trying…Review Please!**

"What is it?" Sebastian asked again glaring at her as he held the small, cold metal pentagram in his hand. He had a few ideas of what it could be, but no way of knowing for sure. The only sure thing was it was magical. He remembered when he had watched it spin and how it made him feel. He was so enamored by it, all he could do was stare at it. He had no thought of his own, it was all he could do to stop.

She refused to play this game. With a snap of her finger it jerked out of his hand to fly through the air and she caught it. "It's nothing you need know or worry about." Was her only answer as she stuffed in her pocket and began to walk away.

Sebastian wasn't about to accept that, though. He knew there had to be something. It was worth something to her, it had a purpose. He felt like he knew it, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Like he'd seen it before, seen her use it, but the memory was too far out of his reach to recall. He had to know.

So he charged at her quickly knocking her to the ground. He pinned her arms above her head and held down her legs. To fool her and keep her from fighting back he pretended all he wanted was her. His mouth moved to her neck kissing it while his hand quickly went up under her shirt.

She smiled victoriously. She had him where she wanted him. So in love with her that nothing else mattered.

He bit into her neck like she had told him to do before. Drinking her blood, he knew was all part of her plan. He knew the side effects. Like drinking anything it made him stronger, but unfortunately it was also like alcohol. It left him drunk and it was addicting. Except now that he knew what it did, he could try to work with it to his advantage.

She moaned as he drank from her neck slowly like she wanted him to. His hands massaged her skin, he had her shirt bunched up to her chin so he had access to everything. Then they moved south to her jeans, which he quickly unbuttoned. He could tell he had her believing that she had won the argument and she wasn't going to fight him, his plan was working. Now all he had to do was weaken her, so he bit down harder and sucked harder on her neck.

"Sebastian." She said wincing in pain. She knew it was addicting, and she wanted him addicted. Usually she liked pain, but she could feel the lack of blood start to take effect and her body was tingling. "Sebastian, that's enough." She said grabbing a handful of hair at the back of his head trying to pull him off. "Sebastian!" She said louder.

Finally he sat up letting her go and he was holding the pendant in his hand again. He had pried it out of her pocket without her even noticing, she was too worried about her neck. He glared down at her, his eyes black as night from drinking so much of her demonic blood. Blood oozed from his mouth every time he exhaled. It was an eerie sight, but to her it was sexy.

He wiped his mouth off on his arm, and swallowed the rest that was left in his mouth. He felt hot and dizzy, everything was spinning. His vision was like a zoom on a camera that kept going in and out, his eyes would focus on something then zoom out and focus on another. It was giving him a headache. He didn't waste any time to ask her questions, that would only give her time to recuperate and plan her next move. Instead his hand came down as hard as it could backhanding her across the face for everything she put him through. Then flicked the pentagram making it spin like before careful not to look at it, and grabbed her chin hard to make her look at it. She tried to move away but she couldn't. He watched her for a minute and realized she was hypnotized. She was compelled.

"I want you to get the hell out of this town and never come back." He ordered in a slow raspy voice. "Now."

She nodded once and then quickly got out from under him and bolted out of the apartment. It was daylight out, so she was outside burning in the sun, but that wouldn't stop her. He collapsed to the floor holding it in his hand tightly while he tried to deal with the effects his body was going through.

He remembered seeing it now. She had used it on him back when they first met. She had compelled someone else to do something, then erased his memory of it. She had erased a lot from his memory, and it was all coming back to him in a flood.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel was arriving in Salem. He pulled up to the house and walked to the door. He didn't even have to knock and the door flung open revealing Nathan, Noah's father, who of course was named after him annoyingly so. Nathaniel, like Serena, wished they'd just start being original and come up with their own names. It would be less confusing.

"Hello, stranger." Nathan said with a big smile on his face. It'd been too long since Nathaniel actually visited them. He was sorry, but he was a busy man.

He was escorted into the nice house, which Nathaniel helped build. They had told him the reason they wanted such a house was because they wanted a big family, yet they ended up with only Noah in the end, and after Nathan's sister died they got Eli too. Noah had had an elder brother, another Nathan, who died not long after he was born. Then he had two little sisters, one who was still born, and one who died a few years back. Her magic killed her. It was difficult for them to bear, even Noah, but he deals better than his parents. He leans on Eli like an older brother and Eli really helped him through it.

"So, what's this spell my son tells me about?" He asked before calling up the stairs. "Noah!"

Nathaniel looked up to the ceiling as he hears movement and then Noah comes running down.

He stops suddenly seeing that Nathaniel is alone. "Where's Eli?" He asks softly looking back up the stairs not wanting Eli's wife to hear him. She was so excited that he was coming home finally and he wasn't here.

"I made him stay to look after the town."

"But the covenant – " Noah began.

"We have his wife and your aunt, that'll do."

"His wife is expecting to see her husband." Noah argued. "How much longer you going to make them wait?"

"Noah, please."

"Nathaniel, if anyone can sympathize it's you. You're the one who was forced to marry a witch so that your child would not be deemed a bastard as you were and be outcast from society. But yet you had to leave htem anyway because of what you were."

"I know my past, thank you." It was true. Just as Nathan was named for him, Noah was named for his own son. How quaint. He hated it. He hated being reminded of how he never got to know his own son. He had to watch from afar. It was bad enough growing up knowing his own father left him not wanting anything to do with him, then he did it to his own. He hated himself for it, but like Elijah, he did it to protect them from himself. He was stupid back then.

"Then let Eli come home."

"I will. When this is over. Now hurry up, we don't have much time." He added taking off his jacket and handing it to Noah's mother who put it away in the coat closet for him. He followed Nathan to the back of the house where the door to the basement was and they all went down.

Serena wandered the house wondering where Lilu had stormed off to. After their fight he was in the middle of submitting her and then he just stopped. And disappeared. She took the time without him to look for a phone.

She went downstairs and found one of his guards who was standing just inside the door. He seen her and held up his stake knowing it would temporarily harm her enough to subdue her.

"I'm not escaping." She told him as she came closer. She wasn't that stupid. He wasn't a vampire. But he wasn't human either. He was another one of Lilu's creations. He was a Crocotta. She wouldn't be able to use her strength against him or her speed. Crocotta's were like vampires, except that they feed off souls rather than blood. That was a common trait in the twins' offspring, they all fed off humans for something.

However, she was far older than he was, so she had the upper hand. Plus, she had something he craved, an immortals' soul. Human souls were one thing, but a soul from a supernatural being was a different vintage altogether. And he could smell it. That was the reason he wasn't allowed upstairs where she was, Lilu knew how they were.

"Hungry?" She asked seductively as she got right in front of him. "I bet a soul as old as mine is quite the treat."

Unable to deny himself he quickly jumped on her with his much larger fangs just inches from her skin. She punched and kicked him off sending him flying into the door, breaking it down in the process. He came running back inside lunging at her again, and she grabbed ahold of him and threw him across the room. Then in a flash was right on top of him. She took his stake from him and stabbed him through the heart with it killing him.

Crocottas may be strong, but are still weak compared to vampires who are the strongest of the offspring. Partly due to how long they live. Crocottas arent immortal, they just aged slower than humans.

She searched him for a cell phone and found one. She took it and quickly dialed Nathaniel's number.

Nathaniel answered his phone seeing an unknown number. He didn't say anything worried that it might be one of the twins to tell him bad news.

"Nathaniel?"

"Serena?" He jumped up from his seat happier than ever to hear her voice. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I don't know how much time I have so I'll be quick."

"Serena, hold on. I'm in Salem, we're doing a spell that will end all of this. Just don't die on me, alright?"

"Nathaniel, be careful."

"Where are you?"

"No, don't come after me. It'll only anger him. I just wanted to make sure everyone was alright."

"Yeah, we're fine."

"Ok, I have to go."

"No, Serena, don't – " But she already hung up on him. "Damn it!" He rasped shoving his phone back in his pocket as he plopped back into the chair.

"Is she alright?"

Nathaniel shook his head thinking. He knew something was up, the way she spoke, something was strange. She was physically ok, sure, but that was about it. She was pretending to be strong as usual. "We need to hurry."

"We have to wait until dark." Nathan reminded him. Nathaniel just groaned rubbing the inside of his eyes in frustration. Then his head shot up as he heard a car pull in the drive.

"Are you expecting anyone?"

Nathan shook his head and looked to his son, perhaps a friend from school or something. But Noah shrugged too. Then they heard a thud as the door opened and as soon as the person entered the house they knew who it was. Only a member of the family could enter without permission. Just like the estate used to be.

Eli came barricading through the door like his life depended on it and ran straight upstairs to his room. He stopped dead in his tracks at the open doorway staring at the bed where his wife lay curled on her side. He felt like he had just run the whole way there from Mystic Falls. His heart was beating against his chest so hard. He came over to the bed and crawled in beside her holding her against him.

"Eli." She whispered. She'd been crying. She was upset that he hadn't come with Nathaniel. He kissed her cheek as she buried her face in his neck. "Thank god you're alright."

"Sh…I'm here. It's ok."

She lifted her head from his neck so she could kiss him. It felt like she hadn't seen him in years. She was so afraid for him. She knew what was going on in Mystic Falls. She knew Klaus had been there and that made her more afraid than anything. She almost lost him in Italy, which was bad enough, they came to the states to be safe from and live normal lives. She couldn't take it anymore.

"I know it's been hard." He whispered looking her in the eye. "And I'm sorry. As soon as this is over, I promise, we will go wherever you want. A city with no supernatural crap whatsoever."

"You'd leave Salem?"

"I left Italy for you didn't I?"

"But they're the only family you have left."

He shook his head disagreeing with her. "You and Nuria are my family." He said kissing her forehead. Then he heard the baby whining and got up to go see his little girl. She was nearly two now. She was lying there in her crib. She had the same dark hair as her grandmother, which made him happy considering that's who she was named after, and the same blue eyes that he also inherited from her. He picked his daughter up kissing her forehead and cheek as tears fell down his face. "Daddy missed you." He whispered and she clung to him as if she knew what he had said.

"She missed you too." Nina said as she came up behind him wrapping her arms around his waist. She wasn't going to let him go. At least not until dark when he had to go in the basement with the others and perform their spell. Nathaniel had told her so himself, when he asked her to take Eli's place in the covenant. Not that she had a choice. He was just being polite about it.

Sebastian finally got himself up and made it home. He was dragging his feet, but he made it. He was still drunk and completely messed up. He was worried for his family once he got home, but he needed to be there. He made it up the porch steps and pushed the door open before falling on his face unable to take another step.

Hearing the loud thud Elijah got up and walked to the door. His eyes went wide when he saw his son laying there. He quickly knelt beside him and rolled him onto his back.

"Sebastian."

"Blood." He mumbled, though it sounded more like "Blude." As he coughed and clenched his stomach. He needed the real stuff to cleanse his body of the demonic shit.

"Where's Lilitu?" Elijah asked with concern. He knew she wouldn't just let him leave, so he broke out and she would no doubt be scouring the town looking for him.

That wasn't important right now, though, to Sebastian. "Blood!" He said again urgently and this time he said it clearly. Elijah looked behind him to Bonnie who nodded and ran downstairs. Meanwhile, Elijah lifted Sebastian up off the floor and walked him to the couch to sit him down.

He put his head in his hands growling and groaning at himself. "God, make it stop." He mumbled. His head was pounding. His whole body ached. It wanted more, but more would only bring on more pain and so on and so forth. It was like any addiction. The only way to make it stop was the real thing.

"Bonnie!" Elijah called impatiently watching his son in pain.

"I'm coming." She said as she ran to them and handed them a handful of bags.

Sebastian looked up and counted four. "Not enough." He said lowly as he took one and ripped it open with his teeth. He drank it all in only a couple swallows, then had the second one ripped open.

Bonnie's eyes went wide, and she quickly ran downstairs to get more.

Elijah thought he'd been starved. It made sense. Until on the third bag he started to cough again and Elijah thought he was about the regurgitate it all back up.

"Easy." Elijah said holding him up as he keeled over. "Slow down."

Sebastian leaned into him grateful that he was there. He rested his head on his knee still keeled over clutching his stomach wanting it to stop constricting. It was trying to force the blood back up, but he wouldn't allow it. What it wanted he wouldn't give it.

"What happened?" Elijah asked curiously.

Sebastian couldn't answer. He couldn't tell his father he was addicted to Lilitu's blood. He just prayed to every god in the universe that his sister wasn't in the same position.


	34. Deal's Over

**Chapter 34: Deal's Off**

**I don't own TVD. PLEASE REVIEW, the last couple chaps have been short on reviews. **

Lilu found his sister just outside of town hiding in someone's house. She had compelled them to let her in. She knew her brother would feel her pain as she ran through the daylight and would come looking for her. He barged right in not needing to be invited, and walked past the owner of the house who, of course, was a single man. He was older than Lilu would have predicted, mid thirties, and a lawyer. Well, that explained it, Lilu thought, his job is more important than having a wife.

He walked into the living room where she was sitting. She had closed all the curtains so no light could get into the room making it very dreary and depressing. The room was supposed to be cheery colored in greens and blues.

"What happened?" He asked as he sat down across from her.

"The little prick found my medallion." She answered taking a sip from a tea cup.

"Which one?"

"The pentagram." She answered as if he shouldn't have had to ask.

"So he compelled you to leave?" He chuckled. "You – you amaze me sometimes dear sister, you really do. How foolish could you be to put it somewhere he can get it?"

"Go back to Hell, Lilu." She barked due to her wounded pride. She had loved Sebastian, or at least in her way, which was more than most men got.

"Perhaps, it's time to stop this foolish game of ours."

"What? And get a mate like we planned? You really want to lose that sweet piece of Petrova pie you have? You've waited a thousand years to have that one in your bed, and now you're ready to give her up?"

"No, of course not." He sighed leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees. "They've been playing us, Lilly. They know our weaknesses. It's our turn to play them. WE're superior, we always have been. We created them for Christ's sake. They're nothing but pets."

"What do you suggest?"

"I think we've held our deal is over. Sebastian just broke it. Come sundown, go back to Mystic Falls and find your mate, and I'll do the same. But Serena won't know that."

"What about Sebastian?"

"Find his weakness. Meanwhile, to keep Serena loyal to her word, I'll have to find hers before she tries anything."

"Their only weakness, dear brother, is their family. And majority of them are in Italy."

"Not the family. Serena is a widow, and claims she has no one, but I'm not so sure."

"You think she has a lover. Don't you think if that were true he would've made himself known by now?" She asks taking another sip.

"They must have someone outside of family. And we have plenty of pets to look for us."

"Fine." She sighed. "I'll make some calls."

Sebastian was laying on the couch clutching at his stomach as it churned trying to push up the last two bags of blood. He had already regurgitated twice into the trash can that Bonnie brought over for him. His mouth was still dripping some of it and he could taste it on his tongue.

"Sebastian, look at me." Elijah urged.

Due to her worry for her son Mara was trying to regain her control over Katherine's body. So Elijah was being torn between taking care of Sebastian who was retching and his wife who was tossing on the couch across from him. He knew she would want him to help Sebastian, so that's what he did.

He grabbed his son's face gently making him look at him. "What happened to you? What's wrong?"

"It's her blood." He rasped afraid to open his mouth enough to let anything other than words come out. "It's addicting. My body…ah!" He cried in pain bringing his knees to his chest.

Bonnie had a warm towel in her hand as she stood behind the couch. She patted his forehead with it to keep the sweat out of his face.

"That's what your body wants?"

Sebastian nodded. He felt like he was dying. This was worse than being starved. This was worse than anything he'd ever felt. And to make it even worse, as if the pain wasn't bad enough, there was a constant image of her wherever he looked. As if she were a ghost watching him. The blood was more than a drug, it was a way to keep him coming to her. It was a bond. It made him want her. But it wasn't going to work, he wouldn't let it. No matter how long the fake Lilitu stood there staring at him seductively, he wouldn't waste one second missing that cold hearted bitch.

"Make it stop."

"How?"

"I don't know…I don't care. Please."

Since Elijah was reunited with them they had never begged him for anything. They didn't really want anything to do with him. Even after he broke Serena, she never asked anything of him except to not run off again. He knew this was something that he couldn't fail. Sebastian needed him more than ever, he was dying in front of him, he had to find a way to save his son. He didn't spend all that time alone and finally get them back to lose him again.

"Maybe it's like any drug. We just have to wait it out. Once it's out of his system he'll be fine." Bonnie suggested.

"But how long?" Elijah asked.

"A day, maybe two. I don't know. I mean you drink too much you get a hangover and it lasts a day right? Or when a human has vampire blood in their system, that takes a day too."

She had a point. But Elijah didn't really want to have to sit here and watch his son in pain helplessly for another twenty hours if he didn't have to. There had to be something.

Lilu came back that night and Serena had already fallen asleep. Rather than wake her he sat in a chair at the end of the bed watching. Tonight he wasn't going to control her dreams, rather he was just going to observe. He had trusted her word that she was alone, but after Sebastian's betrayal he could no longer trust their agreement. He had to know if she had a weakness. He had to know if she had a lover.

In her dream, Serena was back in time. She knew where she was the moment she saw the old saloon across the street. However, she didn't know when she was until she saw the cowboys upon their horses trotting by and tipping their hats at her to show their admiration of her beauty. She never paid any mind to them. Only cowboy had ever captured her attention as well as she had captured theirs.

She walked across the dirt street into the saloon. She was wearing what used to one of her favorite dresses. It was red on top and on bottom, with a lace corset design in the torso which was black. And her sleeves were black lace which draped just below her shoulders. Although, she was never too fond of the corset, the only plus they had was to accentuate what little chest she did have and make it look bigger. Her sister was the endowed one in the family.

She walked inside and there he was. Alec Jackson Munroe. Her eyes went immediately to the stage where her favorite person was strumming his old guitar that his grandfather had given him with ease and singing beautifully with his soft, deep, velvety voice. God how she loved to hear him sing. His eyes caught hers as if he could feel her watching him. Actually he could probably just smell her, he was a werewolf after all. His lips pulled back into one of his sexy smirks showing only half of his teeth as he kept singing. She smiled back biting her lip as she strolled forward to the bar.

"Good evening, Miss Petrova." The bartender greeted. Since Alec worked there every night, they knew her by heart. Plus, some nights she would even sing just for extra money. Not that she needed it, but Alec did. She'd always give it to him and men tipped more to a lady singer.

"Good evening, Bill."

"Usual?" He asked picking up a glass from the rack.

"Please."

He made her favorite drink for her. Alec had been impressed the first time he saw her drink like a man. She drank more than just wine and champagne. He handed her a drink that was in a tall glass of a Tequila cocktail.

She was still drinking it when Alec finished his song and came down to the bar. He came up next to her placing his hand on her hip as he pulled her close and slammed the countertop with the other to get the bartender's attention. "Couple shots Billy." He ordered then turned to his lover and kissed her with a smile on his face.

"I miss you." She whispered once their lips parted. "God I miss you so much."

Lilu was getting frustrated watching this. He hated seeing her with this man. He wanted to reach through her dream and wrap his hand around his neck and squeeze until it broke. He just wanted a name, hurry up and say the man's name.

He hurried up and downed his two shots and then put his hat back on over his black hair that was down to his eyes. Then took her hand and led her out the door.

The last thing Lilu wanted to endure was a sex scene, so to speed things up he decided to intervene.

As they walked out a man came walking up the street. Without saying a word he lifted a pistol from his side and shot. The bullet hit Alec right above the heart knocking him backwards.

"Alec!" Serena screamed.

Then she shot up in the bed wide awake still shaking and screaming his name. But as soon as her eyes locked on Lilu's she knew what had happened. Lilu knew now. He knew about Alec.

"It was you…you shot him." She stated.

"Please tell me, Alec didn't live beyond the 19th century. Tell me he's dead."

"Lucretius killed him. They dueled for me and Alec lost." It was the truth. Just he's no longer dead. But she couldn't say that.

"So you're alone?"

"What is this about? We've been through this. I'm a widow, I'm unattached, I told you that."

He stood from his chair quickly and next thing she knew he was on top of her pinning her to the bed. "If you're lying…"

"What is this about?"

"Why did you kill my guard?" He asked changing the subject. When he returned he found the body lying there on the floor. She didn't even try to cover it up. He wasn't going to tell her about Sebastian, she'd be too suspicious. He had to make her think he didn't suspect anything. He had to keep her submissive. If she thought he was going back on his word she would try something.

"I went downstairs to look for you and he attacked me."

Trusting her, he had no reason not to believe it, he let her go. That was the whole reason he wasn't allowed upstairs was for her own safety.

Night came and it was time to do the spell. Nathaniel was nervous, more nervous than he ever had been. Even more so than when he had to kill his father. Because this spell was about his mother. Klaus was never anything to him because he was nothing to Klaus. Klaus created him then left. His mother was his whole world growing up and he had missed her dearly the last thousand years. There were so many times he needed her, needed guidance, and she wasn't there. Like now. And just the thought of finally seeing her again was frightening. Would she be proud of who he is now or would she scold him like a child for disappointing her?

Eli came down the stairs knowing what he had to do. He refused to let his wife be a part of it. "Are we ready?" He asked flatly. He didn't want to do it, but he had no choice. Sometimes being in this family sucked.

"Yeah." Nathaniel sighed rising from his seat to stand in front of the altar he drew with his own blood. There was a bowl in the middle. He pulled the medallion from his neck, the same one that brought him back to life, and put in the bowl so that it would grant her life, sort of. Then he dug in his pocket for an old comb that he kept of hers. He kept most of her things. The comb also happened to have some hair in it which was why he chose it rather than another personal belonging. Once he had those three things they could call her.

They gathered around in a circle and took hands. Nathaniel began first speaking the chant in latin and slowly they all started along with him once they figured out what he was saying.

The middle of the room started to glow as a small ball of light appeared and slowly as they started chanting louder it got bigger and brighter, and bigger and brighter some more until they could no longer look at it. They had to squeeze their eyes shut.

Nathaniel could feel himself growing weaker. His mother would need her magic returned to her in order to sustain herself, which was part of the reason the altar had to be drawn in his blood. The energy she had given him when she died was flowing out of him, it was causing the ball of light. It was allowing her to manifest herself.

But soon he couldn't take anymore and he collapsed. He blacked out.

The light subsided and in its place was a tall beautiful woman with dark tan skin and raven hair flowing down to her bottom in the back. Some of it was curled up and held in place with a comb. That was the way she always wore it.

She looked straight to her son and walked forward, but paused before she left the circle. She wasn't sure if she would have enough energy to leave it. Summoning a ghost was one thing, but to allow it to walk freely and actually be like the living was another entirely.

She took a step forward prepared to disappear, but instead she turned solid meaning the spell worked. So she rushed to her son's side lifting his head under her hand.

Everyone was tired as well and they just fell to their knees in both exhaustion and awe of her presence.

"Nathaniel." She whispered. "Sweetheart, can you hear me?"

His eyes slowly drifted open enough to peek at her. He saw her dark honey eyes. "Mama." He mumbled before passing out completely due to exhaustion.


	35. The Return

**Chapter 35: The Return**

**I do not own TVD. PLEASE REVIEW, PLEASE! I Need them. **

Nathaniel woke up expecting to see the manor or that basement, but instead what he saw was a place he hadn't been in a thousand years. It was the home he grew up in, one of them anyway, the last one. They had moved there when he was eleven, after all of supernatural stuff in his blood started to develop. She moved him around to keep him safe from ridicule. She gave up everything for him.

He rose up to look around the room. But it was dark, so he lit the oil lamp and got out of bed. He looked down and he was wearing his underpants. He walked out of his room and down the hall towards his mother's room which was right next door.

"Mama?" He asked knocking on the door, lightly at first then louder since he couldn't hear her inside. "Ma?"

He got worried. She was always in bed, or at least in her room.

He walked as quick as he could through the rest of the house looking for her. As he rounded into the living room a stone came through the glass window. In that moment he remembered what night this was.

"No…no…not again." He mumbled as he dropped the oil lamp and ran out of the house. He slid in the ground outside the door as he turned to the side to run towards his mother who was lying on the ground. "No…" He whispered as he fell to his knees beside her.

The thunder cracked above as lightning lit up the sky. A couple more minutes and the rain would start to pour down.

"Nathaniel." She whispered as he picked her up to rest her head on his lap. "My boy." Her hand came up to his face stroking it lovingly. She had tears strolling down her face.

He never understood why she chose to die. She could've slowed down her aging and prolonged her life. He could've had his mother for at least another century.

"Mama, please." He begged as tears rained from his eyes. "Please don't leave me." As he cried the rain started pouring down.

"Shh…I'll never leave you. You're my baby. I love you."

He knew he couldn't change her mind. And it hurt more than anything. He just cried.

"Nathaniel..." She lifted her hand which was glowing from her fingertips. "Take it."

"No…" He shook his head quickly. "You'll die."

"I'm already dying." She corrected. "Sweetheart, please. I took it from you when you were born, now please take it back before its lost forever."

Knowing he couldn't argue with her, and that this was the past after all, it'd already been done, he rose his hand to meet hers. Once they touched it felt like he'd been pricked, like static electricity in all five fingers. The magic flowed out of her body into his. But it wasn't just what she took from him, it was hers as well making him twice as strong.

He watched as her life faded from her eyes until the power keeping her alive was gone.

"Thank you." She whispered barely loud enough for him to hear. "You remember what I told you when you were a boy. When we moved here. Who I want you to be."

He nodded slowly as he sucked back the tears. "Be a simple man."

"Remember that." She said with her last breath and then her body went limp.

He looked up at the sky. His anger fueled him. He felt the magic pulsating inside him with everything else in his blood. And he screamed it all out into the air, venting to God.

Then with a scream he shot up into a sitting position. But something was holding him back. He looked over his shoulder and saw her.

She had her hands on his face lovingly looking him in the eye to sooth him. She had a tear in her eye from worry.

"Mama." He whispered.

She hugged him tightly kissing his cheek. "My baby."

"I missed you." He whispered breathing her in.

Serena was extremely worried for Alec's life at the moment. She had to get word to him somehow, and find a way to warn him. But how? Maybe Alec was safe, maybe Lilu believed her. But if Sebastian had really gotten away and the deal was broken, she couldn't afford to assume anything. If he found out that Alec was still alive he'd kill him.

Knowing that the twin connection meant he would feel whatever she felt, she had an idea. She ran into the bathroom while Lilu was downstairs. She rummaged through all the drawers and the cupboard above the sink before she found a pair of scissors, and not just nail clipping scissors, but hair cutting ones. The little ones wouldn't work.

"Please work." She whispered as she sat down on the toilet and put the sharp edge to her forearm. She drug it along in a downward line then drew another one connected to it at the top, and then one more connected to both of them in the middle forming an A.

"Ow!" Sebastian screamed raising his arm. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong?" Elijah asked running up the stairs and into Sebastian's bedroom. He had put him to bed hoping he could get some sleep and feel better.

Sebastian rolled up his sleeve to reveal the wounds that were quickly healing. Elijah took his arm looking down at it reading it. Once she put the last letter on her arm they knew.

Alec.

"Alec!" Sebastian yelled calling for him. Alec ran across the hall from Serena's bedroom.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I don't know." He admitted looking up to his father. Elijah gently released his arm and Sebastian watched it heal removing any evidence that Alec's name had ever been there.

"With you gone the deal's off." Elijah reminded them. "Alec's in danger."

"What? Why am I in danger? From who?"

"From Lilu. They'll be looking for your weaknesses, and a lover would be on the top of the list."

"So what am I supposed to do? Leave town?" Alec asked trying not panic, but it wasn't working. "I won't do it."

"You may have to." Elijah said softly not trying to alarm him too much, but he wanted him to understand what they were dealing with.

"How can this be happening?" Alec breathed as he slid down the wall to sit on the floor. "We should've just gotten married and left." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration trying to think of something.

"Then Elena would've been his victim." Sebastian stated.

"No offense to her, but I don't give a damn about any other woman besides your sister! And she's out there with some freak when she's supposed to be on a honeymoon with me!"

Elijah cared about Elena, not as much as he had Katherine, or especially Mara, but she was in some essence like them, so he still cared. "Don't ever say that." He warned before leaving the room. He had to go check on Mara who had gotten worse.

"Serena will come back Alec, you know she will. But not yet. Not until she knows its safe, not just for us, but for everyone. That's just who she is. You know that."

"I've spent a hundred years waiting to be with her and now she's this close and I still can't have her." He chuckled to himself insanely. "It's enough to drive a man insane."

"Sweetheart, before we do anything – " Josephine started.

However, he interrupted her. He knew it was rude, but at the moment he didn't care. "Mama, there can't be a before. We – you – you have to save them."

"Honey, I will, I promise."

"But?"

"There's someone I need to talk to first. Some questions that need answered."

"About?"

"About you, sweetheart."

It took him a minute to understand where she was going with this. But once he saw her resetting the altar and realized that the person she needed to talk to was also dead, he knew.

"No." He erupted angrily. Talking to his father was way, way, way out of the question. Why would she need to anyway? He was dead, she was dead, they'd had plenty of time by now to talk over their problems.

"Sweetheart, he's blocked from me. I have not seen him since he died and I don't know why."

"It's Klaus, mother." The only time he ever used that word was when he was being cross with her, so that she would know he meant it. "He left you once, you really think death is going to change him?"

"He has answers I need, and frankly you need them too."

"Mother, I got all the answers I needed while we had him caged in our basement."

She ignored him and finished her altar. She needed something that belonged to him, so she took off her ring from her left hand. He had given it to her a very long time ago, before Nathaniel was even conceived. Back when he was doing everything he could to sweep her off her feet. He had promised her he'd marry her if he could, but they both knew that was impossible. So, instead, he gave her a ring with a promise that he'd always love her. That promise only lasted about eight months and then she realized she was pregnant and after she told him he left.

Nathaniel kept waiting for that bright white ball of light to reappear but it didn't. Instead what he saw standing before him was just another ghost. Except it wasn't just any one, it was his father. The man he killed. The man he hated more than anyone on the planet.

Klaus looked around for a minute to figure out where he was. Then his eyes fell on Josephine and smile stretched across his mouth. "Hello beautiful." He said softly.

"Niklaus." She greeted in return with less sentiment.

Then his eyes turned to Nathaniel, Nathan, and Noah. "The prodigal son, and what's left of the family."

"Nick, I am the one who brought you here. Not Nathaniel. I have questions I've waited a thousand years for answers to and I want them now."

"Let me guess, you want to know why you had to die?" He asked with a cocky grin. Then he made himself a chair to sit in out of thin air to get comfortable knowing he was going to be there a while. "Simple really, love, you chose that yourself. Not I."

"Nick, you gave me no choice. I was not going to sacrifice my son."

"Which I knew. Did you really think I would? I never wanted Nathaniel dead, Josie. I knew the choice you would make."

"If you didn't want me dead, then why even ask her to choose? Why did she have to die?" Nathaniel asked angrily. His father's games were sick and twisted.

"To make you what you were born to be."

"Nathaniel, I took your power from you the day you were born, remember? My death was the only way for you to get it back."

"Had she not done that, she wouldn't have had to die."

"You're lying." Nathaniel didn't want to believe that her death was her own fault. He had blamed Klaus for it – for everything for so long that he couldn't let it go. He had to believe it.

Klaus merely shrugged. It didn't make a difference to him, especially now that he was dead. The ugly truth was still the truth. "Believe what you wish…Any other questions, my lovely?"

"Why did you leave? You may not have wanted me, but you wanted him. That was your plan. So why abandon him?"

"You know why."

"Alexander." She sighed. Klaus and Elijah had to run off to be free from their father. Alexander would have done who-knows-what if he got his hands on them. Especially Klaus.

"We were never that far away, Josie. Elijah wouldn't have it. He had to see his family." He said making Elijah sound weak. "I didn't truly leave until the day you died knowing Nathaniel here would have his powers and would come looking for vengeance."

"If you had stayed he wouldn't have hated you so." She stated.

"Perhaps." Klaus admitted picking at his teeth as if he were bored with the conversation. But he couldn't complain about it, she was the one in charge at the moment. "Doesn't matter."

Surprising her son she walked over to where Klaus was sitting within his barrier, which he couldn't cross. If a ghost ever did cross they would automatically evaporate and returned to wherever they come from. She reached her hand inside and he stood up to take it. He pulled her in to hold her close and kiss her. Nathaniel growled low in his throat angrily, but it was something she asked for. She wanted to feel him one last time.

"I loved you." She whispered. She never said it out loud when they were together. Back then it wasn't a word that was said very often.

"And you want to know if it was real?" He chuckled lightly smiling down at her. It was obvious. They had left many things unsaid between them.

"Did you ever love me?" She said barely loud enough to hear. She choked on the words as they came out. She was crying silently, tears falling down her face.

He leaned down to her ear to whisper something, then he kissed her cheek a couple times down to her lips kissing her again before forcing her back out of the barrier. He was always hot one minute and cold the next when they were together. It used to drive her crazy, used to make her want to hate him, but she never could. She wiped her mouth and her tears to regain her composure as he sat back.

"What can we do?" Elena asked Elijah. She and Stefan and Damon were standing there in the kitchen with him.

"Alec needs to get out of town, it's become too dangerous for him."

"Why?" Stefan asked softly. "How would Lilu even know about him?"

"Sebastian's free, which means they're looking for a backup plan. They need leverage." Damon answered.

"Exactly." Elijah agreed rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. Elena could see it all weighing down on him. First the Klaus ordeal, then having to be a father again after so long, and a husband with Mara's return, and now losing the twins…again.

"Where do we take him?" Stefan asked.

"Lilitu can't get back into town, but we don't know where she is. And even though two of you are vampires, you're no match for her should she find him. You're going to need backup."

"We're not going to hunting for some creature we've never seen before." Damon protested knowing what Elijah had in mind. He wanted them to go get another of their "children" to help protect Elena and Alec.

"You may have no choice."

"What about a werewolf?" Elena suggested. "Tyler may be able to help, he might know someone."

Elijah shook his head. "Werewolves are too weak, because technically they're still human."

"So we need something dead?" Elena asked.

"Which leaves a long list." Damon sighed. He didn't want to go back to that book again. Rick still had it, though, so itd be easy to get to.

"Anything else, or am I free to go?" He asked impatiently crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why are you blocked from me? How was I not able to find you after you died?"

He laughed.

"I know where you are, Nick, that's not the issue. I cast a spell that night, I should've been able to see find you."

"Oh, right. I had that bind broken." He answered.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Nick – "

"Josephine." He didn't need to answer. She saw the sternness in his eyes. He knew all along that even if she couldn't find him to answer her questions she would do this and get them answered anyway. So there was no point. And they all knew they were in separate after lives. She was happily in Heaven waiting patiently, and he was in Hell.

"I want to save you, Nick." She cried softly. Quickly she wiped away more tears.

"Darling, I am far beyond saving, have been since we were turned."

"I know there is more to you, Nick. I've seen it."

"Mother, not this again." Nathaniel sighed. She had tried numerous times when he was a child to get him to believe that his father wasn't all that bad if you got to know him. Why else would Elijah and some of the others side with him? He was loyal, and loyalty came from someplace good. He was

"Hush." She quickly ordered keeping her eye on Klaus. "There is something redeemable inside of you Niklaus. Please."

"Not that I agree, because I don't, but what exactly are you planning?" He was merely curious. She was a cunning woman, and sometimes downright conniving. Especially when she was angry. They had that in common, which is part of the reason why he liked her.

"Help us." She answered blankly. He raised in eyebrow in curiosity. "Elijah's twins have been captured by the demons we have in common."

"Ah…" He sighed understanding. He had that smile on his face again as he rose from his chair. He was amused. "Those two come for some fun, have they?" He asked looking to Nathaniel.

Nathaniel hesitated looking to his mother who urged him to answer. He nodded his head. "Not long after your…demise." He said trying to make it sound less brutal. "To save Elena and the rest of the town the twins offered themselves. Now, we have to find a way to get them back."

"I see. And what exactly do you need me for?" He asked Josephine. He knew how powerful she was especially with Nathaniel by her side. She could pull of anything, like the spell to bind him and Nathaniel's werewolf sides not only to the curse but to each other, and to bind Mara's soul to Elijah's so she could be brought back to life.

"You and Nathaniel are the strongest of any of their bloodlines. You two are the only ones who could stand against them. Meanwhile, I'll do the spell."

Klaus nodded rubbing his chin in consideration. He thought hard about just leaving. However, he was extremely bored now that he was dead. He missed life immensely, and frankly he was itching to see some old foes and see the looks on their faces when he joined, or rather, rejoined the party.


	36. Vacation's Over

**Chapter 36: Vacation's Over**

**Sorry yet again for the long delay. Been busy with school. PLEASE REVIEW**

Meanwhile, Nathaniel's phone began to ring. He walked away from the commotion to answer it. Looking at the Caller ID he saw the name of who was calling, "Annemarie."

He was surprised she was calling though. "Marie?"

"Finally!" She said loudly with a sigh. "I have been trying to call you for days, why is no one answering their phones?"

"Um…" He didn't know.

She knew that tone. "What happened?"

Oh nothing, he wanted to say. Unfortunately, a lot had happened. A lot of bad.

"Nathaniel?" She pressed knowing if she pushed hard enough eventually he would spill.

"Sorry, um, can I call you back later?"

"God, no." She said angrily. "What happened?"

Nathaniel sighed knowing he couldn't hide anything from her. "We're fixing it."

"Fixing it? Nathaniel…"

Hearing Annemarie's answer, their grandfather knew something had happened. So he got up from his chair in his mansion, the house he used to live in when he was human, and marched over to Annemarie. He quickly took the phone from her.

"Nathaniel." Alexander said with a small hint of anger and disdain.

Hearing Alexander's voice on the other line automatically made Nathaniel straighten up and listen as if he were standing right there. "Yes sir?"

"What happened?"

"Um, Serena's been kidnapped."

"What?"

"Well, not exactly kidnapped, more like she volunteered."

"How the hell did this happen?"

"Lilu. Lilu's in town. Lilitu did have Sebastian too, but he got away."

"Then why is Serena not home?"

"She volunteered." He reminded Alexander firmly. "She refuses to leave in order to keep Elena safe. Elena is the doppelganger, she looks like Mara, that's who Lilu wants."

"Where's Elijah?" Alexander asked. He wanted to know how his son had allowed this to happen.

"I'm not at the house. I'm in Salem."

"Well, then get there!" He urged before hanging up on him.

Nathaniel put his phone away and turned back to see his father staring him in the face. He stepped back in surprise. While he was on the phone his mother had completed the ritual to bring his father back. His mother must have used the only thing he kept his father, which was his ring. Niklaus had taken it from his real father's dead body after Alexander killed him and then gave it to Josie to give to their son to prove his lineage.

"Alexander?" Klaus asked casually looking down at his son's pocket where his phone now sat.

"Yeah. He knows now, so they'll probably be coming back soon."

"We still have time."

"What exactly do you plan to do? Just barge into Lilu's house and kill him?"

"How little you know me." Klaus said amusingly with a smirk on his face. He was too cunning to just barge into anything. They needed a plan first. "For the time being, I think we should focus on protecting Elena."

"Why do you care about Elena?" Eli asked abruptly. "You tried to kill her."

Klaus didn't reply, he just kept smirking. Nathaniel hated that look on his father's face with a passion. So to get rid of it, Nathaniel changed the subject. "We need to get to the house. Alexander wants to talk to Elijah."

"Then we should go." Klaus agreed and led the way out of the basement.

Nathaniel looked to his mother waiting for her to say something along the lines of be cautious, but she seemed to trust her old lover as much as she ever did. Together they followed him upstairs and to the car. The others stayed there this time. Eli needed to be with his family, and Noah was a kid, he needed a break.

Nathaniel walked straight in interrupting the reunion and forced his cell phone into his uncle's hand. "Call your father."

Elijah knew that meant Alexander now knew and he was in trouble. He dreaded this, but he had to do it. He heard it ring only once and then it clicked.

"Elijah?"

"Father?"

"How could you let such a thing happen?"

"Father, it was her decision."

"How naïve you are. This only proves that you are a failure as a father. I took care of that girl, and now you put her up for slaughter."

"Father – "

"You don't speak until I tell you!" Alexander barked. He was more furious with him now than he ever had been. This was worse than abandoning them. "We are on the next plane that leaves in the morning. By the time I get there, Serena better be safe and sound in her bed or else. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir."

Alexander hung up on him and turned to Annemarie and Milena. They were in tears from worry about their cousin. They were closest to her.

"Tell me about Lilu. Why does he want Serena?"

"Do you remember that day she went missing? She and Mona were picking berries, and Mona came back alone."

"I remember."

"That's was the day she met Lilu." Marie said. "All I know is that he came after Serena the same way he came after Mona before she was wed. He couldn't have Mara, so he went after her daughters."

"That's why Mara wed them so quickly." Milena added.

"Exactly. Mara's union with Elijah was the only thing that saved her from Lilu. Now that Serena's no longer married Lilu is interested again. She's using that to her advantage to protect Elena."

"If that son of a bitch laid a finger on that girl – "

"Back then, no. But, this time he has probably already bedded her multiple times."

"Damn it." Alexander growled. "I'm going to kill him myself."

"Well?" Nathaniel asked Elijah.

"They're on a plane tomorrow morning. That gives us just over twenty four hours to get her home."

Just then Alaric came busting through the door. "We have a problem." He announced as he took the remote and turned on the TV.

The news came on and showed a weeping family. Meanwhile, in the upper corner was a picture of the young man who was found dead. They believed it to be a suicide. However, they knew the truth. The murders had begun again. The men were fighting for Lilitu's love. They would continue fighting until she made her choice of who deserved her and that man would be her mate.

"With Sebastian gone, she's started hunting again." Alaric said.

Sebastian saw the news and fell onto the couch. He felt guilty and put his face in his hands in shame. "I should've known." He whined. "I'm such an idiot. Guys, I'm so sorry."

Elijah looked over his shoulder to his son. "At least you're alive."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? I'm sorry I have a conscience!" He said loudly in anger that Elijah would say such a thing. He didn't care about those people, but Sebastian did. This was all his fault. He should have stayed and dealt with it like a man. "I have to go back." He said abruptly getting up from the couch to head for the door.

Elijah, though, quickly stopped him. "Even if I would allow that, it's too late."

"Your father's right." Mara said slowing walking into the room. She had won over Katherine again. It was obvious she was tired. She was flushed and sweaty, and ill looking. Seeing her, Elijah quickly let go of his son to help her before she fell over. "They won't negotiate. Unless – "

Elijah knew that tone, and he didn't like it. She was up to something. "No." He argued knowing full well whatever she was thinking was bad.

"I'm the one he wants."

"No." He urged again even harder.

"So you'll let your daughter suffer?"

"Do not ask me to choose."

"You don't have a choice. Your father is on his way here, and you know what he will do if he gets here and Serena is still gone. We have to get her back."

"By handing you over."

"But you're married." Sebastian stated. "Granted, you died, so technically you're not, but that won't matter to him, you're together now."

"Your sister lied, so could I. Or…"

"Or what?" Elijah asked less enthused than even before when she brought up her original idea.

"Or I make Katherine do it. I could go in and get his attention then let her out."

"But he's already had her, she's old news."

"Yes, but they have unfinished business."

"How do you mean?" Elijah asked now curious.

"She had a daughter, his daughter. The only reason their affair ended was because her parents locked her up to hide her from society so no one would know she was pregnant. Then they banished her to England where you met her."

"Mother, no matter what you do, Serena is not going to leave until she knows for a fact that Elena is safe."

Seeing the disaster on the TV still going on, Alaric butted in. "They just broke the treaty, surely she's going to notice." If she turned on the TV for a second she would see it, and then what would she do? Would she really keep her end of the deal after they declared war? "Plus, Elena's gone. He won't be able to find her."

"Serena will be upset about this. It's hard to say though. Her mood changes so damn easily." Sebastian muttered as he thought over every possible way this could end. Most of them were bad. He didn't really care as long as his sister was ok. If she died, then Lilu was going to find out what hell really was, especially with the old man on his way. Actually, Sebastian would sit back and let the old man handle it, that would be entertaining.

Serena was indeed upset about it. She was bored and turned on the TV in the bedroom. She could never leave, so the TV was her only escape. The second she turned it on she saw the news. The body count was going up quicker than a forest fire. And so did her anger.

"Lilu!" She screamed barging out of the room as fast as she could. She ran downstairs where she knew him to be and into the kitchen. It was still dark out and she had the nerve to come and see her brother before she finished the job. Was she on break or something? "You." She rasped seeing Lilitu sitting there at the table casually drinking some tea with her brother. She looked smug and proud of herself.

Lilu looked over his shoulder to Serena and snapped his fingers at her to get her attention. She was still growling at Lilitu. Then she charged. She leapt up from the floor and tackled her toppling the chair backwards. She held her down and started punching her as hard as she could, but Lilitu only laughed. Lilu was on Serena as fast as he could to pull her up, then he threw her against the wall.

"What is your problem?" He demanded to know.

"You. It's all over the news. How long did you really think you could hide it from me?"

"It just started tonight, darling. Your idiot brother's the one who broke his promise, not us."

"Lilu, please. No matter what happened, please don't take it out on the town. I am begging you." She even got down on her knees and put her forehead to the floor as if he were God. "I'll do anything."

"The one thing I want you cannot give."

She knew what he meant. She was a vampire, therefore she couldn't get pregnant. They wanted to plague the world with more supernatural creatures, and she couldn't do that. She was just a good lay to him. Unfortunately, though, she was getting weaker every day they were together. The more times a person, even a vampire, sleeps with an Incubus the weaker they get. Eventually, she'd die. "Then why keep me?"

"To rid myself of you. Once you're dead I won't be bothered by the memory of you anymore."

"Then unless you want me to walk out that door right now, make me a new deal."

They both laughed at her. What could she possibly have to make an offer worthwhile?

"Sebastian broke his promise, not I. Lilitu can have her mate, but that's the end of it. You keep me until you're done with me then you leave like you promised."

"Why should I? Why shouldn't I go out and find me a nice, beautiful, human girl to impregnate _and_ keep you here to occupy me the rest of the time?"

"You're a son of a bitch, you know that?" She rasped angrily with her face mere inches from his. "I can't believe I ever liked you, let alone loved you. You're not that good in bed anyway." She spat knowing a blow to his ego was the way to get his attention. She turned ready to walk away, but he quickly grabbed her wrist in anger just as she knew he would, and threw her on the table.

His hand held her down by her throat. "Take it back." He said with a growl, as he showed his true self again. Lilitu sat there obviously enjoying seeing Serena being submitted like a pet.

"Go to hell."

She summoned as much strength as she could to kick him off and then spun and kicked Lilitu in the face as well knocking her over. She had a plan, though, she wasn't just doing this because it felt good to fight back. She knew how to get his attention. She was good at it. First insult him to get him angry, then fight and show stubbornness. He liked the challenge, even if it did piss him off. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could and ran into the bathroom. She locked the door then began tearing the bathroom apart. She pulled the tub from the floor and put it up against the door, then the toilet and the sink as well. It gave her enough time to figure out her next move, while he punched holes in the door trying to get through. She pulled some of the piping up and once she saw his fist come through she drove the pipe through the door and into his chest. He screamed in pain and anger as he stumbled backwards into the opposite wall.

She couldn't help but smirk. Then she tried to open the window, but it was still locked with magic. She couldn't leave the house. So she went into the next room and opened the door. She peeked into the hallway to see him crouched on the floor pulling the pipe out. She quickly ran from that room down the hall into another one before he could notice where she went.

That's why he liked humans. They couldn't run fast enough. He pulled the pipe out finally and got up. It was time to start playing hide and seek.


	37. Good Breeder

**Chapter 37: Good Breeder**

**PLEASE REVIEW…Sorry for the delay, again. I'm trying**.

Elena, Stefan and Damon were relaxing in their new get away house. It was the same house, Elena and Stefan had run off to on the lake before. Damon thought it was a bit bland, but he kept it to himself. However, he didn't keep to himself that he doubted they would be safe there, because they had been there before. But Elena just reminded him that this time the house would be magically protected. When Nathaniel got back he was going to put a barrier around it so no one could get in.

Elena heard her phone ring as she worked in the kitchen with Stefan cooking dinner. She put the knife down to answer it, while Stefan kept cutting the vegetables. She looked at the phone and it was a number she didn't recognize. Stefan noticed her facial expression and came closer to see for himself. He didn't recognize it either, but he let her answer it.

"Hello?"

"Oh thank god." Serena sighed.

"Serena?" Elena sounded surprised. How had she been able to call, she was imprisoned.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Where are you?"

"I'm still here, but…damn it…" Serena groaned as she tried to balance the phone on her shoulder and rearrange a few things in the room. All Elena could hear over the phone was a lot of banging and shuffling. "Um, listen I don't have a lot of time. Trying to play hide and seek with an Incubus isn't exactly easy."

"He's not…"

"NO, don't worry he won't kill me. Not yet, anyway. Has he done it yet?"

"Has who done what?"

"I think she means the spell on the house." Stefan said. He figured Serena was refraining from saying it out loud so Lilu wouldn't know anything, he could probably hear every word she was saying.

"No, he hasn't been here." Elena told her.

"Well, where the hell is he?...Nevermind." She sighed knowing Elena wouldn't know the answer to that, she was just venting. Nathaniel needed to hurry up though. "Ok, well, that's all I wanted, I have to go now."

"NO, Serena…" But Serena hung up the phone before she could say anything. "Wait."

"What'd she say?" Damon asked from the doorway.

"She was checking in, but she couldn't talk long because she's hiding from him."

"Did she get away?"

Elena shook her head. They wished she had gotten away. Elena didn't want Serena to die for her, she didn't want anyone to die for her. But if Serena escaped then Lilu would come after her and try to make her his mate and make her bear his supernatural children. As many as he could get out of her, probably. The thought alone was enough to make her stomach upset.

Stefan and Damon shared looks, they were both on edge about this. It was hard to know what was going to happen next. And Damon had even more reason to worry because he had seen the news. The sister was on her rampage making the town that much more dangerous. Damon was growing impatient with this whole thing, because obviously it wasn't working. Their plans so far were failing and he was starting to lose faith. Stefan and Elena, though, of course, seemed to still believe it would all be ok.

Then there was a knock at the door. Damon and Stefan followed Elena to the door. They figured it was someone who was allowed to be there, since as far as they knew, their location hadn't been betrayed. Elena figured it was maybe finally Nathaniel. Maybe Serena called him all angry after hanging up with her while she had the phone.

But when Elena opened the door she saw someone she had hoped to never see again. When she saw his face she couldn't help but let out a scream.

"Hello, my lovely." Klaus said with a smile.

Serena dropped the phone and ran back the way she came as Lilu busted his way through the door. He hadn't bothered following her path of destruction, he could just hear her through the walls and figure out which room she was in.

However, she wasn't fast enough and he jumped landing on his stomach to grab her leg. She fell down hitting her chin on the floor and quickly rolled onto her back to kick him with her free foot. Unfortunately, he caught it before it hit his face and he pulled her to him. She tried to grab at the wall she broke through, but it broke under her hands and then she was in his arms.

"Did you really think you could get away?"

She gave him a small smile as if she were amused with herself and it distracted him enough that she could elbow him in the face breaking his nose. She rolled and got up and ran again. But his sister was still there. And she was blocking her way. Lilitu was standing in the doorway that Serena tried to escape out of.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"Not your concern is it? My deal isn't with you, I'm not your type."

"Bitch, you broke my nose!" Lilu screamed as he moved it back into place. Meanwhile, he walked towards her and grabbed her harshly by the arm. "That hurt!" He yelled before his hand came down hard on her face. Hard enough that she was forced to the ground.

"Why do you like her?" Lilitu asked her brother with in exasperation. She just didn't understand.

"Why do you care?"

"She's a waste of time, brother. She is a pain in our asses, and she's not even worth it. Just screw the little agreement you've made and go get the girl!"

"Worry about your own problems. It's not like you've been mated yet."

Serena got up from the floor with Lilu's help and he carried her back to the bedroom. This time his sister took her leave knowing he wasn't going to listen to her and she was getting tired of him anyway. He put Serena on the bed and decided he was going to teach her a lesson. He held her down and tied her hands and feet to the bed posts. He was going to torture her, and she knew it. Except his torture to most women would be the exact opposite. But it was going to drain her of a lot of energy and render her incapable of doing anything like that again for a while.

Elena looked at Klaus with wide eyes and she couldn't breathe. Her hand was on her chest to make sure her heart was still beating, that it hadn't burst. "How – how are you – you're dead." She stuttered.

"My fault." Nathaniel admitted as he came forward with his mother. "And hers." He added pointing down to her.

"Hi, I'm Josephine, his mother." She said with a smile holding out her hand to be friendly. She looked friendly. She looked like the kind of woman who would never have anything to do with someone like Klaus. Yet, somehow she had loved him. Elena was tempted to ask her why.

Elena shook her hand and said hello in return. Stefan came forward to greet his old partner who had take him captive until Serena saved him.

"Why are you here?" He asked calmly knowing with Nathaniel there he couldn't harm them.

"Are we still upset about what happened?" Klaus asked looking at the three of them who were all glaring at him with daggers in their eyes. He sounded as if it didn't matter what he did. "It's in the past, get over it."

"Get over it?" Elena asked wondering if he was serious. How could they ever get over it? He had ruined everything.

"Can we argue later?" Nathaniel asked. "I have a spell to do."

Elena looked back at the boys knowing she had to invite him in. Stefan nodded lightly, but Damon shook his head. He didn't want any of them in the house. But Elena ignored him and turned back to Nathaniel.

"_You _can come in." She emphasized so Klaus wouldn't get any ideas. He definitely wasn't invited…ever.

Nathaniel snuck by her and walked his way to the living room. Klaus stayed standing in the doorway staring at Damon and Stefan who kept watch, while Elena went with Nathaniel.

"What do you need?" She asked.

"A bowl." He already had all the ingredients, he just needed something to mix it in. Then he would have to bless the house by putting the herbs in bags and placing one at each of the four corners on every floor, then put the barrier around it to be safe. He was already tired from raising his mother and father, but he had no choice. It was either this or sacrifice the poor girl.

She soon came back in with a big mixing bowl. "Will this work?"

"That's fine." He told her as he took it and placed it on the coffee table.

While he was doing that, she figured she might as well tell him that Serena called him. It was only fair. He was probably worried sick and any support she give him by letting him know she at least sounded alright was better than nothing.

"Serena called me."

He stopped what he was doing and slowly his eyes rose from the table to stare at her.

"Just before you came."

"What did she say?"

"She asked if we were alright, then she asked if you had been here yet."

Nathaniel scoffed. That sounded like her, worrying about every one else and not herself.

"She said she was playing hide and seek." Elena added knowing that was important. She highly doubted they were actually playing, it sounded more like she was trying to escape than just hide for the fun of it.

That part unsettled Nathaniel and he sank into the couch rubbing his eyes as if he were exhausted. He was exhausted, but hearing that Lilu was actually after her to the point that she had to hide from him…that wasn't good. Everything was falling apart too quickly that he didn't have time to breathe. They couldn't afford Lilu going back on his word too.

"She sounded alright." Elena added to try and comfort him as much as she could. She knew how close their family was, or at least that generation. They were better than their parents. Nathaniel appreciated her trying, but no matter what she said it wouldn't be enough to make him feel better. He wouldn't feel better until the ordeal was over and Serena was home safe and sound and married to Alec and living happily ever after the way she deserved. Then he could finally go home to his own lover and possibly get married himself, he didn't know yet. He hadn't thought that far ahead yet. He wanted to get married, but they hadn't been together that long and she was a human. He didn't want to change her.

First thing was first, though. Everyone else had to know of this development. They had to be alerted that Lilu could be going back on his word. Serena may have sounded alright, but she was a master at making you believe she was fine when she wasn't. Especially with her voice, face to face was a little harder for her, unless you didn't know her that well. So he took his phone out of his pocket and called Sebastian.

Sebastian was laying in his bed staring up at the ceiling. "Hello." He said rather boringly.

"Serena called Elena."

Sebastian sat up in his bed really fast in surprise. "She called?"

"Yeah, apparently she was just checking in and didn't stay on the line long because she was in the middle of hiding from LIlu."

That didn't sound good. "Oh god."

"Where's Alec?"

"Hold on." Sebastian took the phone across the hall to Serena's room where Alec was laying in that bed trying to cling onto as much of her as he could praying for her to come home soon. "It's Nathaniel." He told him as he handed the phone over.

"Nathaniel?"

"I just wanted to let you know that Serena called Elena a few minutes ago. She's alright."

"She is?"

"Yeah. So no worries, alright? She'll be home within the next twenty-four hours." Or else Alexander would have all their head on spikes to decorate the walkway leading up to his mansion in Italy.

"Thank you, Nathaniel." Alec sighed and gave the phone back to Sebastian.

"It's me again."

"Warn your father that Lilu may break his oath. Serena was hiding from him, they may have been in a fight."

He tried not to get alarmed, because that would only upset Alec. Nahtaniel had lied to him for a reason, to keep him optimistic and under control. If Alec thought Serena was in real danger he wouldn't stay in the house, he'd go after her and cause a scene, and probably get killed. After everything Nathaniel went through to keep him alive, they couldn't afford that.

"Alright." Sebastian agreed trying to sound as normal as possible so Alec wouldn't suspect anything.

Nathaniel then hung up the phone and put it away.

"You lied to him." Elena pointed out.

"No, I just didn't tell him the whole story."

"He deserves to know that the woman he loves might be in danger." Elena argued.

Nathaniel shook his head. "He deserves the chance to be optimistic. I will not take that away from him."

Without another word he went back to his spell and started stuffing bags again. Elena sat there on the couch keeping to herself not wanting to upset him further by butting into their family business. She just knew that if it were her and Stefan, he would want to know everything, no detail left out. But Stefan would go after her, he wouldn't be waiting in his bed for her return, he'd be out looking for her. Stefan was a vampire though, Alec was a werewolf who could die. And Serena's life depended on Lilu not knowing Alec existed. If he went charging in, Lilu would kill Serena for lying to him and he would kill Alec out of spite.

It took a while and then Nathaniel spoke again. He was about done. "While I put up the barrier, you should call your friend. The werewolf."

"Tyler?"

"Yeah. Lilitu's out there and with your friend being a werewolf, he might be more attractive to her. He could breed more powerful creatures."

Elena nodded and took out her phone while Nathaniel went around the house punching holes in the walls to put the bags in. She texted Caroline to keep an eye on Tyler and make sure Lilitu doesn't get to him. Caroline soon texted back saying she wouldn't let him out of her sight. They were at his house anyway, so it wasn't like they were out wandering out in the open where she could easily get to them.

Caroline looked over to Tyler who was almost asleep. They were lying there in bed together after having had sex already.

"Everything alright?" He asked nicely.

"Yep." She lied.

But he believed it and closed his eyes pulling her close. She snuggled up to him and tried to relax. If that thing got her hands on him, she didn't know what she would do. She couldn't fight her by herself. And Tyler would probably be attracted to her, everyone was.

She tried for over an hour to fall asleep, but she couldn't. Tyler was passed out with no cares in the world. Caroline was envious for that. She rolled over facing the window and realized the window was open. When did that happen? She wondered. And how had she not heard it? Slowly she got out of bed and went over to it to peek out. No one was there, so she closed it. Then she turend back around and there she was.

"You." Caroline whispered as she stared at the demoness who was standing beside Tyler.

"He's cute, isn't he?" Lilitu said admiringly as she ran her hand through his hair.

"Don't touch him.

"What will you do, vampire? Kill me? Many have tried."

"Please."

Lilitu sighed. "You love him, I can see that. I love him too. But only one of us can have him, and I always get what I want." She added with a snarl. Her eyes turned red threateningly and she suddenly looked as evil as Caroline knew her to be.

Caroline wasn't going to let Tyler go without a fight, so she charged. She leapt over the bed and Tyler, but Lilitu easily grabbed her throat and dangled her in the air.

"You're young." She rasped. "Too young to be a threat to me." Then like a rag doll she threw Caroline into the wall. Tyler's desk broke and everything that was on it fell the ground in a crash. He quickly woke up and jumped seeing the strange woman standing beside him. He looked from her to Caroline who was on the ground whining in pain.

"Caroline?" His protective instincts over her kicked in and he tried to get to her, but Lilitu stopped him. She sat in between them looking as beautiful as eh could to tempt him.

"Hello, Tyler."

"It's you, isn't it? The demon?"

"Do I look like a demon to you?" She asked seductively leaning forward. Hre eyes no longer red and frightening, but brown and beautiful. Everything about her was beautiful. Tyler shook his head as he looked to Caroline, but she pulled his attention back by grabbing his chin. "She'll live, dear one…My god, you're even more beautiful when you're awake. Just look at those eyes…mmm, I love blue eyes. Come with me."

Caroline groaned as she tried to stand. "Don't listen to her, Tyler." She begged. He looked to Caroline again with his eyes.

"Come with me." Lilitu whispered again. Then she leaned forward to his ear. "I love you, Tyler. It's you that I want, you're the alpha, the best man here." Tyler hesitated unsure of what to do or say, so she leaned back far enough to kiss him. She pressed her lips lightly to his making Caroline even angrier, but she couldn't move. It was if she were controlling her body. "mmm." She moaned against his mouth as if he tasted good. The kiss left Tyler breathless and seeing stars. It was the most amazing feeling…it was almost like the first time he had ever done drugs or gotten drunk.

"I'll come with you." He whispered.

"No…" Caroline whimpered, but it was too late. He had agree and in a flash they were gone. Caroline was left there to cry on the floor.


	38. All or Nothing

**Chapter 38: All Or Nothing**

** Sorry Guys! I promise I'm not quitting on this story until it's done which wont be too much longer now, but I'll try to get it done as fast as I can for you. Hope you like this chapter. REVIEW!**

Serena was getting weaker by the hour now. After pulling her little stunt, Lilu made sure of it so that she wouldn't dare do it again. She'd crossed her limit and he wasn't going to be lenient anymore. They'd broken their vow and the deal was off. She laid there in bed tied with her hands and feet tied to the bedposts by rope soaked in Lilu's blood which was something that was worse than vervain if it touched your skin. Consuming it was one thing – then it was a drug ten times worse than vampire blood – but on skin it was like acid. Her wrists and ankles were nearly burned down to the bone and his blood was also now in her system to keep her compliant. Unfortunately, it also made her want him all the time and whenever they had sex it only made her weaker. She was dying.

He came in with Lilitu, who had a guest. Since she was unable to go back to her own hiding place, she decided to stay there with them. And her new mate would stay with Serena as insurance.

Serena opened her eyes enough to see who the second man was. Once she saw him, her eyes flew open angrily. "How dare you!" She shouted to Lilitu who was holding Tyler's hand as if they were sweethearts. Tyler was completely lost in her spell, he looked like a zombie, but a happy one because he didn't know any better. "What the hell do you think you're doing taking him?"

"Keeping my end of the bargain." She replied. "It was your brother who broke the deal, Serena, so now it's time we do what we came here to do. Mate."

"Tyler, don't listen to her, please. Snap out of it!"

"He can't hear you, Serena." Lilitu laughed. "Not really."

"Tyler's going to stay in here with you." Lilu said as he came over to sit on the bed with her pretending to be concerned for her well being as he caressed one of her sore wrists. "I am sorry for this, my love, but you left me no choice. However, I know you are stronger than you look, and you're also very conniving so no doubt you're cooking up something right now in that beautiful little head of yours."

"So Tyler is my babysitter?"

"More or less."

In other words he wasn't just to keep her from doing something stupid and pushing Lilu over the edge, but to bring her around to their side. Tyler was completely loyal now, well almost. Once they mated he would be. And until then he was to try to convince Serena to be Lilu's forever so he would never have to lose her again. Granted they couldn't be mates, but she could be his mistress.

"I'd rather die." She stated which took the smile completely off of his face and his eyes burned red.

"Then we won't have a problem. You'll be dead by tomorrow."

Lilu got up and left the room, but her and Tyler stayed. Serena knew why and she wished she didn't. He had whispered something to her on his way out, but it was in a frequency she couldn't quite hear. She didn't have to hear it though, to know what they were up to. Tyler turned to his master with lust filled eyes and backed her into a wall. Serena shut her eyes and turned her head not wanting to see this. She knew Tyler was beyond her help and it hurt. She couldn't help but cry when she started to hear Lilu moaning.

Caroline hadn't left her bedroom. She hadn't even moved from the window. When no one had heard from her and she wasn't answering her phone, Bonnie decided to go find her since Elena was gone and unavailable. Bonnie knocked on the front door of Caroline's house and no one answered, she rang the bell, and still no answer. Yet when she turned the knob it was unlocked proving someone was there. Caroline heard Bonnie coming but still she was frozen to the spot by the window where that bitch had taken Tyler.

Bonnie walked in to see Caroline in a heap on the floor. She didn't look good at all. She looked hungry too, which made Bonnie pause. She didn't want Caroline to lose control by being so close.

"Caroline." She called from the door.

Caroline lifted her head to look at her crying, "Bonnie."

Seeing her best friend in such a state, Bonnie no longer cared about getting bitten. She ran to her and embraced her in a hug.

Caroline cried into Bonnie's shoulder. "She took him!...Tyler's gone, and I couldn't stop her."

Bonnie had an idea who took Tyler, but she didn't want to be right. "Who?"

"That evil demon bitch!" Caroline spat. "She – She came in here and put her mind control on him and he left with her!"

"Oh god."

"It's my fault!"

"No…" Bonnie quickly disagreed. Caroline was a vampire, sure, but no match for one of the demon twins. Even the Originals were having a run for their money. Caroline wasn't even a year into being a vampire, where they had a thousand. She didn't stand a chance. Neither did Tyler. Bonnie started to wonder how they were going to win this fight. Sebastian was still off his rocker a little, he was finally starting to come around after getting her blood out of his system, but he was still fairly weak because Serena was probably dying. And if one twin died, then they both died. They were running out of time, not only because of Serena, but because the old man was coming back. She suddenly felt the pressure on her shoulders. Nathaniel had been coming down hard on her for her help with the magic in order to protect Elena and the others. This was as much as her fight as anyone else's and now one of her friends had been kidnapped. Beforehand she could kind of brush it off because Serena wasn't really anyone of importance to her – they didn't know each other. Tyler was a different story. And if something happened to him, Caroline would – she didn't even want to think about it.

"Come on." Bonnie helped Caroline up off the floor. She couldn't just leave her there. "We have to tell the others."

"They can't help!" Caroline spat pushing Bonnie off now that she was standing on her own. She wobbled a bit, but she was on her feet. "Their own sister was kidnapped and have they gotten her back yet? No! How can they help Tyler!"

"Then don't trust them, but at least trust me. I'm in this too. I've searched the Grimiore from cover to cover, I know the spell that can save him. But I can't do it alone."

Caroline thought it over for a moment. She trusted Bonnie, and Bonnie knew that. And frankly if Bonnie's boyfriend had just been kidnapped she wouldn't trust them either because as she said they hadn't even been able to save their own sister yet. But then again, Serena didn't want to be saved because of Elena. So their hands were tied. But Bonnie knew they wouldn't let an innocent like Tyler go without a fight. She trusted them enough to at least do that.

Caroline agreed and Bonnie helped her out of her bedroom. But first Caroline needed something to drink.

"Wait or me in the car." She said pushing Bonnie forward towards the door while she stopped. Bonnie looked at her curious as to why. Then it dawned on her. Caroline was weak, she hadn't eaten all night. She needed blood. So Bonnie silently walked outside. It wasn't something they could talk about, since Bonnie was still uneasy about the whole vampire thing. Caroline turned around and went to find her stash hidden away in the cooler.

The girls didn't have to go all the way back to the mansion. Elijah was in town. He was actually visiting the mayor's house. Caroline wanted to go there first to get something of Tyler's that Bonnie could use to track him, but was surprised when she walked in the door to see Elijah standing there talking to her by the stairs. He seemed to have been there for only a moment.

Tyler's mom turned her attention from Elijah to Caroline quickly curious as to why she was there. Surely, she knew Tyler wasn't home.

"Mrs. Lockwood, I'm sorry I didn't know you had company."

"Caroline, what brings you here? Tyler's not home."

"Oh, I know. Um, he's at the Gym. He forgot something, and asked me to grab it. I'll just go get it."

She hurried away before either of them could ask questions, but she hinted to Elijah that something was wrong, even though she didn't have to. She quickly went up to Tyler's room, and into his bathroom. Bonnie needed something like a hairbrush or toothbrush for her spell. She found his toothbrush inside his mirror and stuffed it into her pocket. Then she grabbed a bag and stuffed it full of clothes to fool his mother. Soon Mrs. Lockwood came up the stairs, and Caroline could hear her coming so she hurried even faster. They met at the door.

"Did you find what you needed?"

"Yeah, I got it. Thanks."

"Tell Tyler we're having guests for dinner. I don't want him to be late."

"No problem." Caroline put on the biggest fake smile she could to try and seem like nothing was wrong when just hearing his name made her want to break down into tears again. She rushed back down the stairs and out the door. She met Elijah again at Bonnie's car. He came out of nowhere as soon as she opened the opened the door. His hand held it in place.

"Something happened." He said before she could ask.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Caroline lied as she threw Tyler's duffle bag into the backseat.

Bonnie sighed with frustration. She got out and stared at the two of them from over her car's roof. Elijah may have earned to be distrusted in the past, but this was different. "Stop lying, Caroline." She said, then turned to face Elijah. "Tyler's gone."

"Bonnie!"

"The demon took him."

"Is that true?" He asked Caroline.

She nodded not wanting to admit it.

He took a deep breath to try and stay as calm as possible. He didn't like it anymore than they did. The town was already in shambles, hence his dinner invitation with the Mayor. He was supposed to bring Serena, but that obviously wasn't going to happen unless he could get her home by seven. He'd rather deal with his brother right now than this.

"Meet me at the house." He ordered before vanishing again.

Elena's phone rang which startled her. She hadn't heard from anybody since Serena called during her hide and seek adventure. She hoped it was Serena calling back to say she got out of there, but instead the Caller ID said Caroline. Caroline didn't want to give Elena anymore reason to worry, but she deserved to know and honestly Caroline just needed someone to talk to while they were walking through the woods to get to the house. Since Bonnie couldn't run like a vampire, it was a long walk.

"Caroline?"

"Sorry to bother you, I know the last thing you need right now is more bad news when you're supposed to be in hiding, but I had to tell you."

Elena suddenly went pale and it caught the boys' attentions. Stefan was standing beside her and Damon was sitting on the couch in the other room watching the news. That was the last thing Elena wanted to see. The death toll was spiking and kids she'd known her whole life were going insane. It was too much. "What happened?"

Hearing Elena's tone, Damon quickly muted the TV to listen in on the phone conversation.

"Tyler's gone. But don't worry Bonnie has a spell. We're on our way to the mansion right now, and Elijah says everything will be fine, so it will be, right?" She said quickly just to get it out.

"Tyler's gone?" That's all Elena got out of that whole speech Caroline just vomited up. "As in _gone_?"

"Yes, Elena. He's gone." She said forcefully. Bonnie stopped looking back but Caroline waved her off and urged her to keep going.

"Caroline…"

"Don't pity me, please, because I really don't want to cry right now."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You're there for a reason, Elena. You're the one that – whatever he is – wants, so no."

"There must be something."

"I just had to tell you. I'm freaking out…Can we really trust them?"

"I believe so. He has Serena, Caroline, and they'll do anything to get her back and to get them out of town."

"Including sacrificing one of us to do it?"

"Elijah wouldn't let that happen." Elena said. She didn't know much about the others and they didn't know her, but she knew Elijah. She didn't think he would sacrifice Tyler's freedom and his life in order to get Serena back because frankly he knew Elena better than he knew his own daughter. So if it came to that Elena could always make a deal with him…again.

"Why do you trust him so much? He tried to kill you, Elena. He went back on his word to kill Klaus and look what happened because of it."

"But he didn't kill me, and Klaus is dead. I'll talk to him."

"You're sure you can trust him?"

"It's worth a shot."

They agreed and Elena hung up the phone. Damon quickly got off the couch to put in his two cents on the matter. "Hold it, are you really going to make another deal with Elijah? He's an original, Elena. He has his own motives, haven't you learned that yet?"

"Serena's his daughter. One that his father has made clear he is to protect at all costs."

"Yeah, to make up for lost time. Remember, he has amends to make. He will do what he has to in order to get Serena back home safely. Tyler means nothing to him."

For once the brothers agreed. Elijah couldn't be trusted with this. Tyler and the rest of the town were collateral damage that family was willing to pay if it meant saving their own skins. Serena may have had her heart in the right place by trying to protect Elena but they didn't have to honor that.

"And what do you think Serena will do if they let this town die because of her. I'm the reason she's there in the first place. If they sacrifice Tyler than her sacrifice for me means nothing! I can't let that happen!"

Damon still disagreed. "If Bonnie says she has a spell to get him back then I say we trust her. Not Elijah."

Stefan nodded too.

Elena wasn't having any of it though. She wasn't going to sit there and do nothing. She never did. Sacrificing her life wasn't exactly new for her and she had a feeling it wasn't new for Serena either. They had that in common and it felt like a bond of some kind. She wasn't going to let them soil her sacrifice by letting Tyler become someone's plaything. Damon held out his hand for her phone and she gave it up, but what Damon didn't know was there was a phone upstairs in her parent's old bedroom. She barged off pretending to be mad at losing the argument but she snuck upstairs to use the other phone.

She called Bonnie.

"Elena?"

"Bonnie, I have an idea. Please just trust me."

Bonnie took Elena's advice and when they got to the mansion where Elijah was waiting she delivered the message. She didn't like it, but she trusted Elena.

"Elena wants to make a deal."

He nodded seeming surprised, but intrigued. He knew no one trusted him, so it was surprising that Elena would be the one offering the deal.

"She trusts you to make the terms of the agreement, the only stipulation is you have to save Tyler's life. Caroline fears that you and your family will just let him go so that the demons will leave."

"Unfortunately, Tyler is only one victim." He replied calmly. He was somewhat surprised that Elena trusted him so much, but under the circumstances he understood. "Lilu has yet to kidnap a girl of his choosing because Serena still lives. So even if we were to sacrifice your friend as you think we would they wouldn't leave yet. So there'd be no point."

"Maybe not today, but what about tomorrow, or the day after? Mystic Falls is dying, and so is Serena! And you're not any closer to saving her than you were yesterday! We can't afford to wait any longer!" Caroline burst out. She'd been silent until that point, so Elijah was caught off guard by her outburst. She seemed so upset that she didn't want to have anything to do with him and his family, as if it was their fault her boyfriend was taken. In a way it kind of was, since the only reason Lilu came here was because Serena was here. But he knew all along Caroline didn't trust him, and honestly it didn't phase him at all.

He sighed. "It seems your friend's kidnapping has brought us an opportunity. We have been unable to find where they're hiding. So do your tracking spell and when you've found them, tell me." He finished then headed towards the living room to check on his son.

Bonnie and Caroline followed. "What about your deal with Elena?" Bonnie asked. Caroline huffed and didn't say another word because all she wanted to do was scream.

He turned around to sit down on the couch getting comfortable beside his son who was growing weaker by the hour like his sister. He looked down at him with sympathy, a look Bonnie had never seen him give before. His children were growing on him. Sebastian was barely conscious, and he was bleeding from his nose as well as one of his ears. He was half covered with a blanket as he leaned over onto a pillow that rested on the arm of the couch. He had a wet cloth in his hand pressed to his bloody nose while his ear bled freely, occasionally he would wipe it off on his sleeve which was covered in blood.

"A deal is not needed. My father has made it clear that we must get Serena home before he arrives, which would be tonight. He is to accompany me to the dinner with the Mayor and so is she as a sign of good faith and well being. Then we will leave this town for good and you and your friends can live however you please with all of this in the past like a bad dream."

"Good." Caroline said sternly.

Bonnie was about to leave but she hated to see Sebastian like that. She wasn't sure why, but he seemed so innocent compared to his father. And it wasn't his fault that Elijah was his father. You can't choose your parents. She knelt down in front of him. "Is there anything I can do? A spell, something to weaken your connection to her so you don't have to suffer like this?"

He smirked slyly as he opened his eyes that were identical to his father's. "I would rather die than not be connected to my sister. So, no."

She didn't understand why he would want to suffer on her behalf, but to each his own. So she left the room to go get ready to do her spell with Caroline.

When they left, Mara walked in. She had a plan of her own but had kept it to herself until now. Time was running out and they had no other options. Serena wasn't going to let anyone help her anyway, but she would never expect her mother to make the next move due to her situation with Katherine.

"Elijah." He quickly stood seeing her. She wasn't supposed to be up. "I know a way we can get our baby girl."

"If it involves you, I don't want to hear it." He replied sternly and sat back down on the couch facing away from her.

"Elijah, please." She pleaded softly as she got down on her knees beside him. She reached up taking his hand in hers and held it tightly. "They were right. You and the boys are no closer to getting her back, and she doesn't want you to. She would never expect me to do anything."

"For good reason."

"I am the one he wants."

"No."

"I wasn't finished."

He groaned, but he listened.

"You know the myth, if you lay with one of them eventually it will kill you. Serena is dying, and so is Sebastian. I cannot sit here and watch my babies die, Elijah, I won't. If I go to him and offer myself in Serena's place – "He start to object but she held up her finger to stop him. "Let me finish. If I go, and I let Katerina free while secluding my own soul, then she will die, not I."

"Leaving you with an empty vessel to live in, is that what you're getting at?"

"Yes. But the main point is the fact that I can save our daughter's life, or does that matter less to you in comparison to my well being?"

"I lost you once because I was a fool and did nothing, I'll be damned if I do it twice."

She came to sit beside him then by resting on the arm and leaning over him. Her arm wrapped around to his shoulder and she rested her head on his. "Even if I am wrong, which I never am – " He laughed at that. "If I die, as long as she is safe that's all that matters. Once she is strong again they can kill Katerina and I can come back. I am only a spirit, after all, I have that freedom. Or I can continue to wait for you forever on the other side, it's up to you. But either way I am going to find him and do what I must to free Serena."

As much as he wanted to say no, he knew he had no choice. Mara's mind was made up and even back when they were married he never could change her mind. And with the twins' lives hanging in the balance nothing could change it. He sucked it down, pride and all, and nodded giving her permission. They only had until six, and it was already after noon.


End file.
